Paper Title
IMPROVING THE ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEATER WITH THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

Abstract
The conventional electric baseboard heater suffers from an inefficient heating cycle, which often results in elevated electricity costs, and a large temperature variation, leading to a loss of comfort and increase in energy consumption. This research aims to remedy this by implementing a thermal energy storage using phase change materials (PCM-TES) to stabilize room temperature between heating cycles.Two preliminary design ideas are proposed and analyzed, one with an attachable multi-PCM storage module that clips onto the existing heater, another with a custom heating element that charges two shell-and-tube units that can employ novel fin configurations. Thermal testing and further economic research are recommended to determine the viabilityof these designs and their thermal and economic benefits. Keywords - Electric baseboard heater, Thermal energy storage, Thermal design, Phase change materials.