Ice storage is a clean, reliable and least-cost distributed energy storage solution for the grid. Since 2005, Ice Bears have been installed in more than 40 utility services, transforming inefficient and polluting air conditioners into efficient and clean cooling systems. With a reliability record in excess of 98%, they benefit both utilities and their customers. Ice batteries improve the efficiency and resiliency of the grid, lower cooling bills and reduce carbon emissions.Powered by iceIce Bear charges by making ice during off-peak hours and discharges by using the stored ice to cool buildings during peak hours. Our smart ice battery reduces peak cooling electricity by 95% for up to 6 hours a day, every day. Smart-grid enabledIce Bear is equipped with a smart-grid controller and bi-directional communications technology to provide real-time visibility and control.Remote Monitoring Ice Bear is fitted with sensors that remotely monitor the performance of each unit.Coolant systems pressureIce TemperatureControl housing temperatureOutside ambient temperatureIce Bear componentsSupply and return air temperature, on either side of the air handlerIndoor thermostatAC compressor on/off statusRemote Controls Operating instructions and needed adjustments can be sent remotelyDispatch Ice Bear to make or melt the iceSet or modify charge/discharge scheduleControl how much cooling is provided and for how longUpdate software and upgrade firmware to roll out new product features and fixesControl and dispatch additional demand-response assetsSecurity The Ice Bear network is

a secure, private wireless network with end-to-end encryption. Servers and databases are located behind firewalls that use security best practices.Control dashboardThe Control Dashboard provides cumulative and real-time system performance data from aggregated and individual Ice Bear units. through the wall air conditioner dimensionsIt also allows customers to remotely control Ice Bear and any additional demand-response assets that are connected to it.how to fix and ac unitSmartTwo way communications allow real-time control and monitoring of each individual unit or groupings of units. gas for ac unitMost fixes, software upgrades and firmware updates can be performed remotely. End-to-end data and network security provide additional peace of mind.

ReliableIce Bear storage is commercially-proven. Since 2005, our smart ice batteries have logged over 34 million operating hours with a reliability record in excess of 98%. Our ice batteries were built to last and require minimal maintenance.Cost-effectiveIce batteries cost less than half of lithium ion batteries of the same capacity on a life-cycle basis. They can eliminate the need for expensive peaker plants, and new transmission and distribution upgrades. Customers save up to 40% on their cooling bills too.DurableWhile chemical batteries degrade over their relatively short life, our ice batteries last at least 20 years and suffer no degradation, regardless of use. They can be fully charged and discharged everyday for up to 20 years without any capacity loss.FlexibleIce Bear storage is available for both commercial and residential applications. Utilities can dispatch individual units, custom groupings or fleets, and schedule them for permanent load shifting or for real-time dynamic load optimization.

Solar-friendlyIce storage firms solar capacity and makes productive use of solar over-generation. Unlike chemical batteries, ice batteries can work with solar for the entire life of the solar assets, and do so every day, at the full rated capacity of the ice batteries.SustainableBy eliminating the need for fossil-fuel “peaker” plants and supporting renewable energy, Ice storage reduces CO2 emissions by up to 40% and NOx emissions by up to 56%. munity-focusedIce Bear storage provides air conditioning savings to businesses and homeowners, and generates long-term business opportunities for local HVAC contractors. It integrates seamlessly into the existing infrastructure and enables a cleaner, more efficient power grid for the community.For the past few years, Ice Energy has been working on combining its thermal energy-storing rooftop air conditioners with rooftop solar systems. The goal has been to determine if the Ice Bear storage units can stand in as a cheaper, more ubiquitous alternative to battery-backed solar for a wide range of tasks, such as demand-charge management, load shifting, peak demand reduction, and providing extra capacity for the grid.

On Wednesday, the company launched “Solar + Ice,” its first foray into commercializing this concept. The system offers utilities long-term power-purchase agreements (PPAs) for combined solar-storage systems, with a focus on the country’s energy storage hotspot, California. NRG is one of the first deployment partners. Ice Energy has already deployed about 1,000 of its units for utility clients across California, each capable of “storing” about 10 kilowatts of energy per day. Its units defer energy consumption by chilling water with cheap nighttime or off-peak electricity, and then using the ice to run AC units during the heat of day without turning on their compressors. This deferred energy usage can help level out the demand profile of a solar-equipped building, depending on how well it matches up with rooftop PV output. In general, air conditioning usage peaks later in the day than solar does, which means that a thermal storage system may have to fine-tune its operations to better smooth the interplay of the two.

Thermal energy storage has been a part of district energy systems for decades, but scaling it down to rooftop size is a newer development. The rooftop AC model matches well with rooftop PV, of course, since both systems can be installed at the same time. Under its typical contracts, Ice Energy enables utility customers to offer low-cost or incentivized Ice Bears to big customers, with both sides sharing the benefits. The utility sees a reduction in troublesome peak energy usage, and the customer gets lower utility bills. It will be interesting to see how NRG Energy plays a role in Ice Energy’s new offering. NRG has already teamed up with the startup on its 26.5-megawatt project with Southern California Edison. Under the terms of that project, Ice Energy will deploy about 1,800 Ice Bear units, starting in mid-2016, and will be responsible for manufacturing the units, managing site acquisition, installation and providing maintenance to the units. NRG will cover 100 percent of the capital costs, and will also get involved in site acquisition and marketing the program.

Solar + Ice is certainly coming into a crowded solar-storage field in California. Battery-backed solar is becoming a preferred way for commercial and industrial customers to do rooftop PV in the state. SunPower and Stem, SunEdison and Green Charge Networks, and of course, Tesla with partners including SolarCity, EnerNOC and Advanced Microgrid Solutions, are among the many firms entering the market, both for commercial and industrial customers or through utility contracts. Energy storage can help reduce demand charges to match PV production, shift and smooth solar’s effect on the grid, and even provide a hedge against changes to utility tariffs or the state’s net-metering regime. Thermal energy storage isn’t as flexible as battery-based storage, since it can only reduce air-conditioning load, not actually store grid or PV-generated electrons for later use. It also can’t inject power into the building or respond quickly to fluctuations in solar output. Ice Energy has been working on the solar-thermal storage challenge since 2013, when it installed 35 kilowatts of Ice Bears on a Kohl’s department store in Redding, California that already had 304 kilowatts of solar on its roof.