An intriguing idea that seems to work.
An excerpt.
Some in California Seek Ice to Ease Crunch
August 11, 2006 — By Christina Almeida, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — City and utility officials throughout Southern California are eyeing a new system that relies on ice to store energy for air conditioners as a possible way to cut peak commercial consumption and reduce the threat of crippling blackouts.
"There's an old saying, a kilowatt saved is more valuable than a kilowatt built," said Bill Carnahan, executive director of the Southern California Public Power Authority, an organization of municipal power agencies.
Cutting power use now could delay the need to build new plants, he said. At least 11 members of the association -- including Anaheim, Burbank, Riverside and Azusa -- are testing the new technology as a way to weather power shortages during scorching weather.
State power consumption reached a record 50,270 megawatts on July 24 during the height of a triple-digit heat wave. The system developed by Ice Energy Inc. consists of a large plastic attachment for commercial air conditioning units that is filled with water, frozen overnight then used to cool refrigerant during the day.
"It stores energy at night, when energy is cleaner to produce, cheaper to buy and easier to obtain, and it makes it available for use during the day," said Frank Ramirez, CEO of Ice Energy, based in Windsor, Colo. The new hardware costs about $10,500 and weighs about 5,000 pounds when filled with water. There can be an additional retrofitting cost of as much as $10,000 for existing buildings and a minimum $750 cost for new construction, the company said.
A residential model is currently being tested by the company.
The system has been in place since 2004 at an Anaheim fire station, where an analysis showed a 95 percent drop in peak energy usage and a 5 percent overall reduction, said Mariann Long, assistant general manager of Anaheim Public Utilities.
