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solonavi 2 August 2007 Technology 108 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

AP

As the summer swelters on, skyscrapers and apartments around the city will crank up air conditioners and push the city’s power grid to the limit – but some have found a cool alternative.

Some office towers and buildings are keeping their AC use to a minimum by using an energy-saving system that relies on blocks of ice to pump chilly air.

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The systems save companies money and reduce strain on the electrical grid in New York, where the city consumes huge amounts of power on hot summer days.

Ice cooling also cuts down on pollution. A system in Credit Suisse’s offices at the historic Metropolitan Life tower in Manhattan is equal to taking 223 cars off the streets or planting 1.9 million acres of trees to absorb carbon dioxide from electrical use for a year, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Such a reduction in pollution is valuable in a city where the majority of emissions come from the operation of buildings. Officials said there are at least 3,000 ice-cooling systems worldwide.

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Today, ice storage can be used as the sole cooling system, or it can be combined with traditional systems to help ease the power demands during peak hours.

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The technology is not for every office space. There has to be room to install the large tanks – and costs are considerable. Credit Suisse spent more than $3 million to renovate its cooling system and Morgan Stanley’s costs were comparable, meaning the technology is best suited to large companies.

“This is for companies that want to go green, but there (need) to be other benefits, returns on investments,” Coulard said. “It works for larger companies because their cooling costs are so considerable.”