California's commercial buildings can keep cool while conserving water with ice storage
December 9, 2015
In California, the severity of drought conditions can often be measured by the willingness of state utilities to call out the top consumers. According to the Los Angeles Times, this practice was common as recently as the early 1990s, before an update to the state's public record laws discouraged the releasing of this data as a matter of privacy. In light of California's recent drought and ramped-up pressure from the Governor's Office to reduce statewide consumption, California's utilities seem to be returning to the old ways.
"Commercial building with large water bills may soon be in the cross hairs."
CBS News reported that the East Bay Municipal Utility District recently released the names and water consumption rates of its leading water hogs, including famed Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane, subject of the 2011 film "Moneyball," after the San Jose Mercury News and additional news organizations made a request for public records. EBMUD complied with the request through a subsection of the public record law which allows records to be published when "the subject of the request has used utility services in a manner inconsistent with applicable local utility usage policies." As a result, the names and water usage of several customers were made public in October.
Given the precedent set by the East Bay Municipal Utility District, it won't be long before many of California's utilities and special water districts apply similar strategies, hoping to encourage reductions in water consumption and meet statewide conservation goals. Commercial building operators with large water bills may soon be in the crosshairs. Making building updates to reduce water consumption now could help companies to avoid a branding disaster in the near future.
The replacement of water-cooled chiller systems is a great place to start. Air-cooled chillers paired with innovative ice-based energy storage can operate as cost-effectively as water-cooled systems without threatening a company's green reputation during California's tough drought. A closer look at the scope of California's water scarcity, along with the major legislative responses in play to address the issue, highlights just how critical solutions like thermal energy storage have become.
Commercial facilities and urban campuses are adapting to big changes
Responding to drought conditions, Governor Jerry Brown laid out plans for a statewide reduction in water consumption last April. The State Water Board officially adopted the emergency regulation in May, said the California Environmental Protection Agency, requiring a mandatory statewide reduction in consumption by 25 percent. Considering this ambitious goal, it's not surprising that utilities are becoming more willing to put pressure on organizations and individuals responsible for the greatest amount of waste.
Public CEO pointed out that this policy shift is not only responding to drought conditions, but also strong political and social pressures in California to minimize the waste of natural resources. Key officials in Brown's administration have indicated that this heightened focus on conservation will become the state's new status quo. As a result, commercial building operators looking to plan their costs over the next few years must now decide to either address water waste decisively or prepare to account for thousands of dollars in monthly fines. Identifying potential solutions to limit water consumption is a prudent choice for businesses preparing their budgets for 2016.
Water cooled chillers inflate waste through evaporation
While water cooled chillers are often selected for their energy efficiency, the large volumes of water used to sustain these systems put a heavy toll on a building's the water bill. Furthermore, applying this approach inevitably to leads to gallons of water being lost to evaporation. This type of water loss is common in cooling tower operation which is required by water cooled chillers to remove the heat.
Operators must continuously add water to the system in order to offset evaporation, inching consumption rates to even higher levels. Finally, commercial building staff must dedicate additional time and resources to maintain the cooling tower system. Keeping the cooling tower clean and free from corrosion and biological growth can take sufficient time, money and resources.
Adding energy storage enhances air-cooled performance
Considering the costs and wastes associated with maintaining a water-cooled chiller system in the midst of a major drought, it won't be surprising if a large number of companies in California begin researching alternatives. One cooling strategy that is ideal for dealing with drought conditions is ice-based thermal energy storage paired with air-cooled chillers.
Thermal energy storage makes it possible for companies and campuses to store energy at night, when electricity rates are at their lowest, in the form of ice. This ice can then be used to supplement cooling efforts during the day. As a result, smaller chillers can be run during periods of peak demand, reducing expensive demand charges and run more at night when ambient temperatures are lower providing greater energy efficiency in contrast to daytime use of air-cooled chillers.
Several facilities in California have already adopted this strategy in order to control costs and consumption such as the Summit Rancho Bernardo office building, William Jessup University, Sierra College and the University of San Diego. Engineers looking for this type of solution that is simple to design and implement can look at the ice enhanced air-cooled chiller plant -- an award winning solution that saves water in k-12 schools and commercial buildings.
The worsening drought may inspire additional penalties for water wasters
Asian Journal noted that California's drought has continued to intensify over the past four years, prompting greater fears that this climate issue will continue to snowball. Likewise, the consequences for flouting the state's conservation goals are expected to get worse before getting any better. Just last June, the state levied over $1.5 million in fines at Byron-Bethany Irrigation District for a violation involving illegal water diversion, according to The Sacramento Bee. The example both highlights how far state officials will go to make sure consumers toe the line on water consumption and emphasizes the growing importance of water-saving solutions like thermal energy storage paired with air-cooled chillers.
