Renewable Energy FAQs (CLICK HERE)

HOW DO I BENEFIT FROM THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE (TES)?

There are several benefits to TES for both the customer and the utility. As a customer in a commercial or industrial rate class, demand charges related to air conditioning load may be reduced or eliminated altogether as the chiller operates off-peak to charge the storage tank. Also, the chiller or condensing unit is more efficient at night when ambient temperatures are cooler. This not only reduces the demand and operating costs from the machine, but it also extends the operating life of the unit.

As a utility, the most expensive electric service is during the periods of super-peak demand. Super-peak demand is best defined as the time period during summer at which the demand for electricity is the highest. This usually occurs in the late afternoon in July or August, but can also occur in a September heat wave. It is expensive for utilities to serve that load because the demand is for such a short duration, it is not cost effective to build power plants to meet the super-peak. If so, the cost recovery needed for that plant is very high, as the amount of time it will operate is very low compared to traditional power plants.
Therefore, it is less expensive for both the customer and the utility to shift peak demand to off-peak periods. The customer may avoid rate increases because the need for capacity to serve the super peak is reduced. The utility can better utilize its existing power supply to serve load at night, thus reducing the overall need for high levels of capacity and the associated costs with reserving that capacity.

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