Thermal Energy Storage (TES)

Icelings manufactures Thermal energy storage (TES) Systems. Thermal energy storage (TES) systems shift energy usage to a later period to take advantage of cheaper time-based utility rates and/or to reduce overall energy demand. In the United States, the primary use of thermal energy storage is for cool storage since summer air conditioning is the dominant electric load. Cooling storage mediums of choice are water, ice, and eutectic salts.

At night Ice production is done in non-corrodible tanks and used the next to cool the building. The main advantage of Thermal energy storage is that it reduces costs and at the same time protects environment. Hence this technology is very popular with architects, engineers, administrators and building owners.

Advantages of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Systems

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems cool a storage medium and then use that cold medium to cool air at a later point in time.
Using thermal storage can reduce the size and initial cost of cooling systems, lower energy costs, and reduce maintenance costs.
If electricity costs more during the day than at night, thermal storage systems can reduce utility bills further.
Systems can be sized to eliminate compressor energy use during periods when electricity is most expensive, but most systems are designed to simply augment mechanical cooling in order to limit peak demand.

Economics of using TES, When to decide for TES

TES may be economical if one or more of the following conditions exist:

High energy demand costs
Energy time-of-use rates
High daily load variations
Short duration loads
Infrequent or cyclical loads
Capacity of cooling equipment has trouble handling peak loads

Effective applications of thermal energy storage include:

Electrical power use management by shifting the cooling load to off-peak hours and reducing peak load
Reducing required capacity of building and process cooling systems, or helping existing cooling equipment to handle an increased load.

Water storage systems are often used in new large cooling system applications in conjunction with cogeneration and/or district energy systems. Water-ice storage is the most common cooling storage in smaller applications. Because latent heat storage (phase change between water and ice) has a smaller volume, it is often chosen for retrofit applications with limited space.

In general, the buildings that offer the highest potential are offices, retail, and medical facilities.

Performance/Costs

Thermal energy storage systems are installed for two major reasons:
a) lower initial project costs
b) lower operating costs.

Initial cost may be lower because distribution temperatures are lower and equipment and pipe sizes can be reduced. Operating costs may be lower due to smaller compressors and pumps as well as reduced time-of-day or peak demand utility costs. The economics of thermal storage is very site- and system-specific. A feasibility study is generally required to determine the optimum design for a specific application. TES projects often profit from unexpected benefits that are secondary to the primary reason for an action. For example, a well designed TES air conditioning application may experience reduced chiller energy consumption, lower pump horsepower, smaller pipes, high reliability, better system balancing and control, and lower maintenance costs.