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Yeah, there was even an off-the-shelf unit to do ice storage in residential homes called an Ice Bear. Looks like they went bankrupt a while ago though.
by cool_dude85 5y ago
Yeah, there was even an off-the-shelf unit to do ice storage in residential homes called an Ice Bear. Looks like they went bankrupt a while ago though.
- DaiPlusPlus 5y ago…you mean a fridge?
- storyinmemo 5y agoNo, or at least not without more steps and automation. WAY back before refrigeration, cooling was done with blocks of ice harvested in winter and stored for the year. Expensive is a word for it. What's being talked about here is thermal energy storage. Ice is created overnight (ok, like a refrigerator), but then during the daytime used to supplement or replace the refrigeration cycle of the compressor to reduce electric load while still providing cooling. I can't quickly find an article (edit: found a 2016 paper, see comments about Boothbay on page page 3-4: https://www.aceee.org/files/proceedings/2016/data/papers/3_262.pdf https://www.aceee.org/files/proceedings/2016/data/papers/3_2...), but it's memorable to me that an island in Maine installed these systems instead of spending more on replacing the distribution line to the island the handle the peak daytime cooling load.
- chihuahua 5y agoI think we're talking about using ice as energy storage: create ice during a time when the supply of electricity exceeds demand, and then use that ice for cooling (AC) at a later time.