The systems, which connect to existing building air conditioning (AC) units, use off-peak energy overnight to freeze 450 gallons (about 1,700 litres) of water in an insulated tank. The resulting stored energy, in the form of ice, is used to cool buildings during hot afternoons when electricity demand spikes to run traditional AC systems.
Over the next 24 months, SCPPA will pay Colorado-based Ice Energy to install its systems on some 1,500 government, industrial and commercial buildings in the service territories of its member utilities.
