<== Site of the Week for 2009-02-03 ==>

Ice Energy

Ice Energy builds on the observation that people could satisfy many of their HVAC needs simply by moving heat around. The company creates hybrid cooling systems that freeze water in insulated tanks during the night, when temperatures are cooler. The system absorbs heat as the ice thaws during the day.

The system directly reduces energy consumption by evening out the day and night temperature. The really exciting part of the product occurs when one considers Ice Energy in relation to the electrical grid.

The power industry builds to peak capacity. There is a day time peak as air conditioners, computers and other equipment churn during the day. The system idles at night. With some systems the energy releases is simply shunted away.

The Ice Energy system consumes its energy during off peak hours where there is ample, and often unused, power on the grid. The system pulls energy consumption from peak hours to the night time dips. This is a systematic reduction in peak consumption.

As we consider the system in the context of the grid, we find that a hybrid cooling system maximizes the benefits of our energy consumption.

The products are available for small and medium sized commercial buildings.

NOTE, the idea of storing then releasing ice is not new. Were we to travel back a century; we would find an entire ice industry based on storing frozen water during the winter then deliverying to icechests for cooling during the warm summer months.