Thermal energy storage across the United States

April 4, 2016

Over the years, CALMAC has brought the power of ice based thermal energy storage solutions to 60 different countries through over 4,000 installations. But nowhere has there been greater penetration of thermal storage than in the United States, a leading country in energy storage capacity. Here are a few of the buildings that saw huge improvements over their normal HVAC operations by installing thermal energy storage.

TIAA-CREF
The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association installed a CALMAC IceBank energy storage system in its New York City headquarters. According to Contracting Business (CB), the 578,000-square-foot building will save $765,000 annually in energy bills by shifting its cooling load to the nighttime, instead of during the day when energy prices skyrocket due to peak-demand usage.

A thermal energy storage system of this size provides an excellent return on investment, but also does its part to help clean up the environment. The new HVAC system will reduce carbon emissions by 6.1 million pounds per year, CB reported. This is the same reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to planting 828 acres of trees every year - a massive victory for environmentalists everywhere.

California State Lottery Headquarters
CEO Mark MacCracken recently penned an article on CleanTechnica about the challenges of zero energy building without proper energy storage infrastructure in place. In it, he referenced the California State Lottery Headquarters, which installed 2,000 ton-hours of thermal energy storage capacity on its 155,000-square-foot lot.

The inclusion of thermal energy storage on their property, working in tandem with solar energy panels, helped the California State Lottery Headquarters achieve LEED Gold status. The results of its foray into energy storage earned savings of 37 percent per kilowatt-hour during the summer's super-peak hours and 21 percent during normal-peak hours year-round.

Kapi`olani Medical Center
The Kapi`olani Medical Center, located in Hawaii, opened its doors in 2002. The perennially warm temperatures in the region make finding affordable HVAC solutions a high priority - one that CALMAC was able to help with.

CALMAC was able to install 31 IceBank tanks in a narrow strip of land that was just 10-feet wide and 125-yards long. The project is a true testament to how lack of available space is never an issue with thermal energy storage installation.

The savings were immediate and impressive - the old HVAC system used 11,000 kWh per day, while the thermal energy storage used just 9,100 kWh per day while lowering the electric on peak demand. The total savings year-round resulted in 750,000 kWh that didn't need to be used.

Installations beyond the U.S.
Thermal energy storage is in high demand around the globe and in the United States, especially in states like New York, California, Florida and Texas. Popular in major cities including those across the mid-west, CALMAC has helped to meet the demands of storing energy for millions of occupants.

With global projects stretching from Mexico to Australia and nearly everywhere in between, the power of shifting cooling loads to the night to save on energy costs and reduce environmental impacts is universally recognized. Thousands of energy conscious customers like American Airlines, Credit Suisse, DuPont, Khol's, IBM, IKEA, McDonald's, Morgan Stanley, Nordstrom, Siemens, Shell Point Village, Trane, Underwriters Laboratories, WalMart, Wang and prestigious LEED projects such as the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, JC Penney, SAP America, Owens Illinois, Edwards Air Force Base and the Marriott Hotels have partnered with CALMAC along with many school districts, churches, government buildings, universities, retail and medical centers all over the world. Energy #StorageIsHere and nearly everybody is getting on board.