The electric grid is changing, as concerns about climate change and renewable resources increase. Thermal energy storage is becoming more important to building owners and utilities for their ability to enable growth of renewable energy resources.
What is Thermal Energy?
Thermal energy storage systems utilize ice or chilled water, which is created during off-peak hours and stored in tanks, to meet a building’s peak cooling needs.
Imagine holding a party; you wouldn’t wait to make ice until your guests start arriving. Instead, you’d get the ice ahead of time and store it in your freezer, using it as needed. The same idea applies to thermal energy storage for cooling the next day.
When it comes to controlling skyrocketing costs of air conditioning, thermal energy storage is a proven technology in effectively cooling buildings. In fact, it can reduce cooling bills up to 40 percent.
Thermal energy storage works by shifting expensive peak energy consumption to off-peak hours to avoid expensive utility demand charges.
There are three main benefits of implementing a thermal energy storage system in a building: operational savings, sustainability, and resiliency.
Now, why choose Thermal Energy?
Supports Renewable Energy
A Thermal Battery™ system can increase renewable energy use up to 50% making renewable resources more effective and affordable. That helps with zero net energy design.
Supports High Performance
To have lowest cost of operation, a building must be agile. A Thermal Battery™ system can store clean inexpensive energy, when available, to be used during periods of high demand to help lower the cost of operation.
Supports Grid Resiliency
A Thermal Battery™ system helps overcome the intermittency of renewable energy. It can store excess energy to be used during times when the sun does not shine or wind does not blow. Additionally, a recent study suggests that these systems do more to help the grid during heat storms than previously thought. This is important for both grid resource adequacy planning and providing proper financial compensation which in turn means more incentives.
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