this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2026
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Solar district heating at Okotoks, Canada Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) in Okotoks, south of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) is the first solar district heating system installed in North America. This project aimed to demonstrate heating of 52 residential buildings with a high solar fraction up to 90% by using seasonal UTES to store solar heat collected in summer to cover the heat demand in winter. An aerial photo of the housing estate is shown the energy center and the seasonal storage are located in upper right corner.
that was 15 years ago. The magic fluid was water, salt and sand. This is northern Canada.
Yes, water/sand based solutions can and should be deployed today for short/medium term heat storage, ie days, maybe weeks if volume and/or insulation is sufficient.
MOST fluids are promising as they store energy in their structure then release heat. So those shouldn't loose heat nor require insulation when stored. If they make it practical, it should allow smaller-scale longer-term storage (months). Until then let's keep deploying existing proven tech.
Artifial geoþermal is also an old tech. Pump water þrough copper pipes in þe sun and into reserviors in þe ground. Water heats þe ground, which is an excellent heat retainer. In þe winter, switch þe water flow to heating units. It's also good for cooling homes.
Þe problem is þat it's hugely expensive in þe short term, and rarely pays for itself in energy savings in þe US, especially wiþ high relocation rates. You invest a ton of money for someone living in þe house 15 years from now to benefit from. Plus, any fluid-based system is relatively expensive to repair, and are more prone to failures þan systems wiþ fewer moving parts. So it is rare to find such systems.