(A03) Ice Heating: Using Thermal Energy Storage to Foster Building Electrification

Most solutions to decarbonize our existing building stock, specifically for large and tall buildings, are invasive, expensive, and sometimes ridiculous. Two crucial events must transpire: a phased transition of the electric grid to renewables and swapping buildings' fossil fuel use to electricity. Great strides have been made by the grid, a result of aggressive policies and depreciating costs of green energy. However, building electrification in densified cities remains a formidable challenge. While many building end-uses are electric, such as lights and computers, the lion’s share of energy remains unconverted: heating.
The electrification of heating is especially hard for high-rise buildings because footprints are too small for ground source systems, roofs lack ample area for heat pumps, and real estate space is a premium commodity. These hurdles make electric drop-in replacements unfeasible and uneconomical.
The solution is twofold: implement advanced heat recovery strategies that leverage heat from inside the building and implement thermal storage in the form of ice-water to reduce the size of new heat pumps. This idea prompts the following concept: have you ever felt heat dissipating from the backside of a refrigerator or icemaker? These appliances act as internal heat generators and stored energy devices. In fact, engineers can exploit the phase-change properties of ice to heat a building.
Listeners will discover the "Ice Heating" strategy: an innovative way to integrate contemporary technology that relies on ice tanks and heat recovery to reduce the capacity of heat pumps needed to electrify buildings. This method is capable of “peak shaving” and “valley hunting” to interact dynamically with the grid and leverage time-of-use tariffs and emission rates to reduce costs and carbon. We will educate the viewer on a viable solution that tackles building decarbonization challenges in a way that’s economical, spatially feasible, and integrates with future societal electrification.