Do you envision utilities using this for residential A/C units or for the larger commercial units only? Also, how will the benefits change if temperatures do not cool off at night significantly? In some areas, such as Phoenix, the heat from streets/buildings radiates at night and the city residents do not experience much cooling at night anymore as the city has grown larger.
Patti Harper-Slaboszewicz - 02/23/2009 - 14:30
Doesn't make financial sense
the units cost $10K plus $10K installation to save 10kW? Are you kidding? It's a solid product but the overwhelming majority of the market opportunity is retrofit, and at 5K lb. this solution does not install quickly or easily.
There are much more cost-effective deals for the utilities in terms of Demand Management and Demand Response solutions in the market. Seriously.
George Karayannis - 02/23/2009 - 23:45
Answer to Patti's question
Patti - The benefits have nothing to do with the temperature. They relate to the lower cost of electricity at night. The units recharge at night when rates are low. During the day, the melting ice creates pressure that drives the air conditioner's compressor, so it doesn't have to use the more expensive daytime electricity. Basically it shifts the load to the nighttime. - Jesse
Jesse Berst - 02/24/2009 - 07:33
Ice Bear Energy Storage System
Any response to George K's perspective? Also, could solar energy be used to supplement the energy needs of the Ice Bear? Especially in Hi temp areas like Phx. Solar energy could power the energy storage during the heat of the day to shift that energy demand to night operation. So you could have in effect 24 hr availability based on solar during the day and off peak usage during the night. This may call for a second condenser/compressor pair to capture the energy,... back to George K's point regarding cost :) Anyway, just a thought. Please comment. - Perry
Perry Lewis - 05/24/2009 - 06:51
Ice Bear Storge System
George's numbers are a bit high. The unit is about $8000 and installation another $5-10k. There are rebate programs in California where up to $1,500 per kW or $7,500 per ice bear is available on top of an annual reduced energy bill.
Comparing peak shifting ice storage to demand response is apples to oranges. DR programs require loss of cooling from the building occupants and are focused on only a few hours of the year. Ice storage reduces peak every day. It is actually a capacity resource. By reducing peak demand in capacity under-optimized areas of the US (eg everywhere) existing generation assets are more fully utilized in a flattened load curve environment. The Ice Energy website has a lot of information on utility scale deployments which are well under way.
Jay Wenstrup - 05/26/2009 - 18:23
flaw in SG checklist
If this is a 90, then we need a play-off. As Karayannis states, this technology is prohibitively expensive, and unlikely to ever scale downward (despite the awesome SGN score). For this system to make economic sense -- an enormous gap in the checklist -- this technology has to take advantage of large on-peak/off-peak price differentials. LARGE differentials. The number of cooling degree days is critical -- this technology only supports one slice of demand: space cooling. Cool science project. Fails the total resource test (TRC) like a rock.
Michael R Ingram - 12/20/2009 - 06:24
Direct use of solar energy
The Ice Bear approach is intrigueing. However, no one ever seems to think about the DIRECT use of solar energy (especially by PV). Also, it should be possible to come up with an absorber-type cooling system in places like Arizona - it would run essentially without electricity except for a low-power blower.
Claus Segebarth - 01/20/2010 - 20:19
ice energy storage application.
ours is energy transmission company in India.we are having many wind energy generators and we want to store its energy during slack period and use at peak period. How ice energy can be useful? what is preferable to install at each wind generator or at the substation where energy of all wind generators are received and fed to other substations? will it be applied for other energy such as thermal power plant, gas power plant and hydro plant, solar plant etc?pl. guide.
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