Trane has added a new chiller to its EarthWise Ice-Enhanced Air-Cooled Chiller Plant portfolio. The ice-enhanced air-cooled chiller plant is now compatible with the Trane Stealth air-cooled chiller, which has the lowest published sound levels in the industry.
The ice-enhanced air cooled chiller plant provides an energy efficient, environmentally responsible cooling solution and is ideal for K-12 and commercial buildings. Like all EarthWise systems, the energy costs of the ice-enhanced air-cooled chiller plant are typically 20 to 30% lower than competitive solutions, according to Trane.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, many building owners or rate payers can attribute about half of their monthly electrical bill to peak electricity use. Switching a portion of cooling energy consumption to off-peak hours can help building owners reduce both energy costs and overall operating expenditures. Thermal energy storage tanks are a proven way to store cooling produced at night when electricity costs are lower. Melting ice that is stored inside storage tanks provides cooling during periods of peak electrical costs or temporary power outages.
The Trane EarthWise ice-enhanced air-cooled chiller plants are paired with CALMAC® IceBank® tanks. These modular, non-corrodible tanks circulate glycol through tubes to freeze water held in the tanks. Trane has partnered with CALMAC Manufacturing Corp., the world-leading product designer and manufacturer of thermal energy storage for commercial air-conditioning systems, to provide reliable cooling solutions for more than 25 years.
“The strategic relationship with CALMAC and standardized layouts with controls allow Trane to provide customers exactly what they want — a one-source solution provider for equipment, controls and services,” said Susanna Hanson, principal applications engineer, Trane “Because Trane can provide the entire chiller plant as a prepackaged solution — including the controls, energy storage tanks and a hydronic completion module — it is easy for customers to install and maintain. We make it easy to design systems that run efficiently and as intended throughout the system’s life.”
In addition to saving on energy bills, ice-enhanced air-cooled chiller plants have a lower environmental impact than non-ice systems. Shifting energy demands to off-peak hours puts less burden on the local power infrastructure and allows companies to draw on cleaner sources, like wind energy, which are predominantly generated at night. Because the system is air-cooled, there are no cooling towers, the system requires less maintenance and consumes no water. Between energy and water cost reductions, buildings can earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits and other high performance standards.
These features make Trane EarthWise ice-enhanced air-cooled chiller plants potentially eligible for various monetary incentives and rebates offered by regional utility providers or government programs. Rebates offset the initial cost and reduce the payback period of a new chiller system, or pay for a retrofit on a suitable existing system.
To learn more about the Trane EarthWise ice-enhanced air-cooled chiller plant, visit trane.com/ice.
Trane is a brand of Ingersoll-Rand.