Thermal Energy Storage for Space Cooling: An Underutilized Opportunity in Federal Buildings

• Published in: Energy engineering Vol. 98; no. 6; pp. 7 - 26
• Main Author: Brown, Daryl R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lilburn, GA Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2001; Energy engineering; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Transport and storage of energy; Air conditioning; Public facility; Chilled water; Cooling; Energy conservation; Thermal energy storage; Ice
• ISSN: 0199-8595; 1546-0118
• DOI: 10.1080/01998590109509329

Cool storage technology can be used to significantly reduce energy costs by allowing energy-intensive, electrically driven cooling equipment to be predominantly operated during off-peak hours when electricity rates are lower. In addition, some system configurations may result in lower first costs and/or lower operating costs. Cool storage systems of one type or another could potentially be cost-effectively applied in most buildings with a space cooling system. A survey of approximately 25 manufacturers providing cool storage systems or components identified several thousand current installations, but less than 1 percent of these were at federal facilities. With the federal sector representing nearly 4 percent of commercial building floor space and 5 percent of commercial building energy use, federal utilization would appear to be lagging. Although current applications are relatively few, the estimated potential annual savings from using cool storage in the federal sector is $50 million. The first few sections of this article provide a brief history of cool storage technology development and descriptions of potential applications and system benefits. Alternative storage media, storage mechanisms, and operating strategies are described in the next few sections. Latter sections describe the federal sector potential, present summaries of site-specific federal applications, and describe conditions that should be sought and avoided when considering cool storage.