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

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 centers 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 centers—Ice Energy's solution transparently shifts energy consumption for cooling from high-impact daytime hours to low-impact nighttime hours—when electricity generation is cleaner, more efficient and less expensive—with no operational or behavioral change.

Using patented 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 overall efficiency and performance of conventional equipment alone

"Data centers consume nearly 3% of all the electricity used in this country today, and a significant percentage of that demand is directly attributable to keeping these critical components of the modern digital life cool and running reliably," says Randy Zwetzig, vice president of Ice Energy. "By providing data centers with a powerful, smart grid ready, cost-effective solution that revolutionizes peak cooling management, Ice Energy and Data Aire have the potential to fundamentally transform data and telecom center efficiency and reliability at a time when it is critically important. We now have a proven system that is not only cost effective and reliable, but also supports environmental initiatives with reduced carbon emissions."

For more information, visit www.ice-energy.com and www.dataaire.com.