Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRBs) are very competitive for large-capacity energy storage in power grids and in smart buildings due to low maintenance costs, high design flexibility, and long cycle life. Thermal hydraulic modeling of VRB energy storage systems is an important issue and temperature has remarkable impacts on the battery efficiency, the lifetime of material and the stability of the electrolytes. In this paper, a lumped model including auxiliary pump effect is developed to investigate the VRB temperature responses under different operating and surrounding environmental conditions. The impact of electrolyte flow rate and temperature on the battery electrical characteristics and efficiencies are also investigated. A one kilowatt VRB system is selected to conduct numerical simulations. The thermal hydraulic model is benchmarked with experimental data and good agreement is found. Simulation results show that pump power is sensitive to hydraulic design and flow rates. The temperature in the stack and tanks rises up about 10 degrees C under normal operating conditions for the stack design and electrolyte volume selected. An optimal flow rate of around 90 cm(3) s(-1) is obtained for the proposed battery configuration to maximize battery efficiency. The models developed in this paper can also be used for the development of a battery control strategy to achieve satisfactory thermal hydraulic performance and maximize energy efficiency. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.