Gundaker St. Louis, MO

Air conditioning during summer daytime hours is the largest single contributor to a building’s energy cost. CALMAC’s Off-Peak Cooling (OPC) systems significantly reduce energy costs by allowing energy-intensive cooling equipment to be operated during off-peak hours when electricity rates are the least expensive, while still providing a cool and very comfortable environment for occupants.

CALMAC’s Off-Peak Cooling systems utilize the company’s ICEBANK® thermal-energy storage tanks to provide proven cost reductions, protection to the environment, and benefits to energy providers.

Calmac Thermal Energy Storage Systems let you shift the largest moveable portion of your building’s electrical load from High-Cost Peak Hours to Low-Cost Off-Peak Hours.

The blue-tinted areas show the shifted kWh, and illustrate the savings created by the purchase of off-peak power. Hypothetically, on a 600 ton, 300,000 square-foot building, where the cost of a kW is $10, saving 600 kW per month translates to a savings of $6,000.

Benefits for the owner

• Reduces cooling costs by up to 40 percent by shifting a building’s energy demand from on-peak to off-peak electric times.
• With a partial storage Off-Peak Cooling system, engineers can specify chillers at 50 to 60 percent of the previous size, reducing capital outlays.
• The size and cost of air handlers, motors, ducts, and pumps can be reduced by 20 to 40 percent.
• OPC lowers the relative humidity within a building and, as a result, occupants feel comfortable even if the thermostat is set at a higher, more cost-saving setting.
• Increases a building’s load factor so less-expensive energy rates can be negotiated with energy providers.
• CALMAC’s equipment can be added to an existing chiller system to increase cooling capacity and reduce cooling costs.
• CALMAC’s equipment provides a quantifiable return on investment.

As an added benefit, all of CALMAC’s ICEBANK tanks are covered by a 10-year limited warranty.

Benefits for the environment and society

• Because the chiller used within a CALMAC system is 50 to 60 percent smaller, less refrigerant is needed. Since refrigerant escapes from a chiller system over time, minimizing the use of refrigerant benefits the environment.
• Reduces source-energy consumption by 8 to 34 percent, which means that energy providers will generate fewer polluting emissions.
• Reduces emissions and use of dirtiest power plants.
• Increases load factor of generation up to 25 percent.
• Delays the need for additional power plants.

Benefits for the energy provider

• CALMAC’s systems reduce peak electrical demand, allowing energy providers to produce more electricity at increased efficiencies and avoid costly expansion.
• In numerous studies, it has been proven that electricity is produced and delivered much more efficiently during off-peak hours than during on-peak periods. For every kilowatt-hour of energy that is shifted from on-peak usage to off-peak, there is a reduction in the source fuel needed to generate it. While the exact amount of savings varies, studies show a range from 8 to 30 percent for two of the major utilities studied. The reduction in source fuel normally results in a reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions produced by the power plant. *
• Increases a utility’s load factor.

*Source: Source Energy & Environmental Impacts of Thermal Energy Storage, California Energy Commission (CEC), P500-95-005, Feb. 1996

For detailed information regarding CALMAC’s ICEBANK tanks and the thermal-energy storage process, please review our general (PDF, 440 Kb) and technical (PDF, 371 Kb) overview PDFs.

Click here for a partial listing of CALMAC’s project list.

Please click here to contact any of CALMAC’s regional managers for additional information or questions.

We also encourage you to fill out our thermal storage analysis form, and a member of our team will contact you with an evaluation of your facility.