Cooling systems such as air conditioning can place a heavy load on power grids, especially If we turn them all on more or less at the same time.
Cooling accounts for 20% of global electricity demand in buildings, a share that is expected to rise as the planet warms and more of the world turns to such technologies.
Balancing the use of the electrical grid
Image: Nostromo IceBrick
During peak demand hours, air conditioners can account for more than half of total grid demand in some regions, so Balancing this load is essential if we don’t want there to be blackouts.
And one option is the cooling technologies that incorporate energy storageas they could help by charging when renewable electricity is available and demand is low, and continue to run on grid power the rest of the time.
One of these proposals comes from the hand of Nostromo Energy under the name IceBrick, which is basically a giant ice cube tray. It cools a solution made of water and glycol that is used to freeze individual water-filled capsules.
And it can be made up of thousands of these containers, each of which holds about two liters of water. Typically, It charges for 10 to 12 hours, starting in the evening and ending around midday. Then, between late afternoon and evening, when demand on the grid is high and solar energy decreases, it is gradually discharged.
Using this system increases the total electricity needed for cooling, as some of the energy is lost through inefficiency during the cycle. But the goal is to reduce energy demand during peak hourswhich can reduce costs for building owners and, above all, avoid outages and blackouts due to excess load on the network.
The idea sounds good, but air conditioners are already expensive on their own, so future solutions will have to take into account Competitive prices to reach the market and formats of household appliances similar to those we have today.
Via | MIT Technology Review
Cover image | PxHere
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