LAUSR

Seasonal cold energy storage is an efficient and sustainable technique for energy acquisition that stores environmental cold energy in winter and offers free cooling in industries, such as food storage or data center cooling. This paper presents a visualized seasonal cold storage system utilizing a two-phase closed thermosyphon as the passive heat-transfer device. Meanwhile, a theoretical model of energy conservation for the passive cold energy storage system was established. The process of ice formation was quantitatively studied through water/ice temperature variations and icicle shape evolution. The effects of the ambient variables and the working period of a thermosyphon on the ice formation were identified. Finally, a conceptual passive cold storage warehouse based on our validated model was proposed and compared with a traditional warehouse cooled by air conditioning system in terms of energy conservation and benefit-cost ratio. This study provides a practical guidance for passive cold storage system design and performance evaluation.