Ice Energy, Data Aire Offer Energy Storage Soln For Greening DCs

Ice Energy, a provider of distributed energy storage and smart grid solutions for optimising energy system efficiency, has teamed with Data Aire, a provider of computer room air conditioning systems, to offer an energy storage solution specifically developed to address peak cooling loads in data and telecom centres.

The companies have completed compatibility testing of Ice Energy’s Ice Bear distributed energy storage system with Data Aire’s Data Temp cooling systems to deliver an integrated, hybrid cooling solution that enables data and telecom centres to slash on-peak electricity demand, better manage energy costs, and reduce their building’s environmental footprint.

Unlike load management cycling or curtailment programs that can negatively impact reliability and availability – and are simply not acceptable solutions for ‘always-on’ data and telecom centres – Ice Energy’s solution transparently shifts energy consumption for cooling from high-impact daytime hours to low-impact nighttime hours with no operational or behavioural change.

Using technology, the Ice Bear system stores cooling energy at night by freezing water in an insulated storage tank. It cools efficiently during the day by circulating chilled refrigerant from the tank to the Data Aire equipment, eliminating the need to run the energy-intensive compressor and condenser during peak daytime hours. During off-peak hours, the Data Aire cooling system operates as usual. Together, this unique hybrid system surpasses the performance of conventional equipment alone.

“Managing energy usage and reducing electricity costs has made building cleaner, greener and more sustainable data centres a critical initiative in our industry,” said Jeff Trower, general sales manager for Data Aire. “Ice Energy offers the first commercially scaled, smart grid ready, distributed energy storage technology to break the link between the need for cooling and the spiralling growth in critical peak demand for electricity in data centres.”