Ice Storage Cooling

An Introduction to Ice Storage Technology

An ice-storage air conditioning system uses electric refrigeration units to generate cooling during off-peak hours at night and stores that cooling capacity in the form of ice. During peak hours, the stored cooling capacity is released to meet the building’s air conditioning load.At the same time, during the spring and fall seasons when air-conditioning loads are lower, the operation of electric chillers is reduced, and the system relies as much as possible on melting the ice to release cooling and meet the air-conditioning load.Thus, ice storage air conditioning systems are an effective method for “shifting electricity demand” or “balancing electricity demand.” Based on their ice storage operating strategies, these systems are typically classified as full ice storage systems (Figure 2-1) and partial ice storage systems (Figure 2-2).