Thermal Energy

Storage…
a simple concept!

University of Florida

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Conventional System

Chiller

Cooling Load

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Conventional Cooling
Cooling Load (Tons)

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Time of Day
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Thermal Energy Storage Options

 Chilled Water – large space requirements

 Ice – most popular
 Eutectic Salts – more expensive than ice

Utility rebates and rate incentives can lower

payback for retrofit

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Chilled Water Storage (1 BTU/lb)
 Simple, but requires a large amount of space/
could be a problem in retrofit applications
 Typical water temperatures of 39 to 40 degrees F
 Need to minimize mixing of warm return with the
cold water in storage
 May need 2 tanks – if full capacity of a tank is
needed
 If temperature stratification of tank is used, the
tank may need to be up to 20% bigger

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Ice Storage (144 Btu/lb)
 More complex tanks and auxiliary equipment
needed
 Ice/water requires around 20 to 30% of the
space needed for chilled water tanks
 Solid ice requires around 10% of the space
needed for chilled water tanks
 Very low temperature water (34ºF) can be used
 Options: Ice on coil, ice harvester or ice/water

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Eutectic Salt Storage (50 Btu/lb)

 Expensive, high tech solution

 Allows use of existing 44ºF chillers
 Typical melt range is 41º-47ºF
 Requires only 30 to 50% of the space
needed for chilled water tanks
 Requires secondary heat exchangers

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Properties of Storage Media
 Chilled water uses only sensible heat storage
and thus stores only 1 Btu/lb of water for each ºF
of temp difference between the stored and
returned water
 Ice systems use only latent heat associated w/
freezing and melting, and one lb. of ice at 32ºF
absorbs 144 Btu to become 32ºF water
 Eutectic salts also use latent heat associated w/
freezing and melting, but one lb. of solid eutectic
salt absorbs only 50 Btu to become liquid

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Sizing Chilled Water Storage Tanks
 Assume that chilled water is stored at 39ºF and
is returned at the std temp of 54ºF
 Thisis a 15ºF T for the AC system
 Thus, 1 lb of water stores 15 BTU
 One ton-hr of AC is 12,000 BTU
So, to store 1 ton-hr you need:
pounds of water; or
gallons of water; or
cubic feet of water

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Summary of Storage Tank Sizing

 Chilled water
15 to 18 cubic feet per ton-hr
 Eutectic salt
3.5 to 6 cubic feet per ton-hr
 Ice
3 to 3.5 cubic feet per ton-hr

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 Ice Storage System

Ice Storage Tank Chiller

Cooling Load

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Ice Storage Cycle
Cooling Load (Tons)

Ice
Ice Storage Cycle Storage
Cycle

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Time of Day

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Conventional Electrical Profile

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Off-Peak Cooling Electrical Profile

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Thermal Energy Storage Myths
 Too much space
 Too expensive
 Too much energy
 Too complicated

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Too much space?

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Too expensive?

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400-Ton Example (New Construction)
Chillers
 The size of the chillers required for an ice
thermal storage system is significantly
reduced when compared to conventional
chillers
 Chiller size is typically reduced to
approximately 50% to 60% of the peak
cooling load

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400-Ton Example (cont.)
Chillers
 Conventional system
 (2) 200 nominal Ton chillers
 Ice Thermal Storage system
 (1) 190 nominal Ton chiller
Savings @ $300/ton is $63,000

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400-Ton Example
Cooling Towers
 Conventional system
 (2) 200 Ton cooling towers
 Ice Thermal Storage system
 (1) 190 Ton cooling tower
Savings @ $50/ton is $10,500

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400-Ton Example
System Distribution Piping – 1500’
 Conventional system – 10° Range
 960 GPM requires 8” pipe
 Ice Thermal Storage system – 14° Range
 685 GPM requires 6” pipe
Savings @ $40/L.F. is $60,000
 Includes pipes, valves, fittings, insulation and
labor

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400-Ton Example
Condenser Water Piping – 200’
 Conventional system – 3 GPM/Ton
 1200 GPM requires 8” pipe
 Ice Thermal Storage system – 3 GPM/Ton
 570 GPM requires 6” pipe
Savings at $20/L.F. is $4000

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400-Ton Example
Pumps
 Conventional system
 (2) 15 HP condenser water pumps
 (2) 10 HP primary chilled water pumps
 (2) 15 HP secondary chilled water pumps
 Ice Thermal Storage system
 (2) 10 HP condenser water pumps
 (2) 10 HP primary chilled water pumps
 (2) 10 HP secondary chilled water pumps

Estimated pump savings $3000

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400-Ton Example
Electrical
Conventional Ice

Chillers (0.60kW/TR) 320 HP 160 HP

Cooling Tower 20 HP 10 HP
Primary Pumps 20 HP 20 HP
Secondary Pumps 30 HP 20 HP
Cond. Water Pumps 30 HP 20 HP
Total HP 420 HP 230 HP

Total kW 320 kW 175 kW 27

400-Ton Example
Electrical
 Reduction in total connected power from
320 kW of the conventional system to 175
kW of the ice TES system
 Includes savings for transformers, starters
and wiring, as well as utility costs
Estimated electrical savings - $28,000

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400-Ton Example
Total System Savings
Chillers $ 63,000
Cooling Towers $ 10,500
Distribution Piping $ 60,000
Condenser Piping $ 4,000
Pumps $ 3,000
Electrical $ 28,000

Total $168,500
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400-Ton Example
Ice Thermal Storage Additions
Ice Thermal Storage Units $ 105,500
(1750 Ton-Hours)
Ethylene Glycol $ 4,900
Heat Exchanger $ 20,000
Concrete Slab $ 7,200

Total $ 137,600

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400-Ton Example
Net Savings

$30,900 in savings
Almost $80/Ton

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Too much energy?

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Ice Thermal Storage
Uses Less Energy
Reduces air conditioning kWh by up to 15%
 Chillers operate at higher supply temperatures
and greater efficiency when piped upstream of
the ice storage
 Chillers operate at night when ambient
temperatures are lower
 Chillers and other equipment operate at full load,
their most efficient condition
 Pump and fun energy can be less when colder
system supply temperatures are used
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400-Ton Example
Operating Cost Savings
 Based on $10/kW demand charge and
usage charges of $0.06/kWh peak and
$0.03/kWh off-peak the owner realizes:
 $7,790 yearly kWh usage savings
 $5,450 yearly demand charge savings
 $13,240 in yearly operating cost savings!

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 Thermal Energy Storage System
Environmental Advantages
 Require less kWh than conventional
systems
 Utilize efficient power and produce fewer
carbon dioxide emissions
 Energy line losses at night are 4% to 5 %
lower than during the daytime

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Source: Source Energy and Environmental Impacts of Thermal Energy Storage, California Energy Commission – Feb 1996
Too complicated?

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Benefits to Owner
 Reduced capital cost
 Reduced operating costs
 Improved building comfort
 Increased asset value
 Better for the environment

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Ice Thermal Storage for
Replacement/Retrofit Projects
 Increase cooling capacity without
increasing electrical requirements
 Add cooling capacity without increasing
 Buildingtransformer
 Switch gear
 Motor control center

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Ice Thermal Storage for
Replacement/Retrofit Projects
 Reduce the existing chilled water temperature by
2°F (44°F to 42°F or 42°F to 40°F)
 Same flow, same pumps, results in a 20% increase in
the piping cooling capacity
 Reduce the existing AHU leaving air
temperature by 2°F (55°F to 53°F)
 Same air flow, same fan HP, results in an increase in
the air cooling capacity and lower humidity levels

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