Mechanical Storage

They are the most common energy storage used devices. These types of energy storage usually use kinetic energy to store energy. Here kinetic energy is of two types: gravitational and rotational. These storages work in a complex system that uses air, water, or heat with turbines, compressors, and other machinery. It provides a robust alternative to an electrochemical battery. 

Where is Mechanical Energy used?

Mechanical Energy is used in,

• Generator
• Steam engines
• Electric motors
• Hydroelectric power plants

Examples of Mechanical Energy

Examples of Mechanical Energy storage include:

Flywheels

These energy storages use mechanical energy to store energy. In these flywheels, electricity is converted into kinetic energy in the form of a spinning wheel, which can store grid energy. In these flywheels, we can prevent energy loss by creating a magnetic field that will maintain the wheel in a frictionless vacuum. When we need power, the spinning wheel can be slowed down in a way that generates electricity.

Application of Flywheels

There are various applications of flywheels some of the most common are:

• A motorized generator uses a flywheel to store energy.
• Used to increase the speed of electric vehicles
• It prevents obstructions in major power systems
• It helps in the maintenance of the gyroscope and mechanical system adjustments.

Compressed Air Systems Storage

These systems use compressed air to store energy for later use. This storage can be of any type: Diabatic, adiabatic, or isothermal. These storages fulfill the demand of consumers by meeting their demands efficiently.

Application of Compressed Air Systems

The most common application of compressed air systems are:

• Drills
• Atomize paints systems
• Operating air cylinders in automation systems
• Cryogenics system

Pumped Hydro Storage 

This type of storage generally helps in storing grid energy. These are used in the balancing of loads by electric power systems. This energy is stored in the form of the gravitational potential energy of water. When electricity demand is low then the extra generation capacity is used to pump water into a higher reservoir from a lower source. When the demand increases, water can be reversed back into the lower source from the higher reservoir by using turbines, generating electricity.

Application of Pumped Hydro Storage

Some important applications of Pumped Hydro Storage include:

• An electricity storage medium for various renewable energy storage.
• Ancillary grid services
• Storing Electricity for other purposes

Energy storage can be defined as the process in which we store the energy that was produced all at once. This process helps in maintaining the balance of the supply and demand of energy. Energy storage can also be defined as the process of transforming energy that is difficult to store into a form that can be kept affordably for later use. These storages can be of any type according to the shelf-life of energy which means some storages can store energy for a short time and some can for a long time. There are various examples of energy storage including a battery, flywheel, solar panels, etc.