Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a thermal energy storage (TES) technology using phase-change material for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) applications.
NREL has granted NETenergy an exclusive field limited license to develop and commercialize a hybrid HVAC-TES system that utilizes NREL’s intellectual property. The hybrid HVAC-TES technology commercialization project is a close collaboration effort between NETenergy, NREL, and OEM partners as part of the second cohort of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) and DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund.
Analysis by NREL’s researchers show that the hybrid HVAC-TES technology can improve commercial rooftop air conditioning unit (RTU) efficiency by 10% and reduce peak-demand by 40%. The analysis used performance data from laboratory experiments, conducted at NREL, of a 5-ton air conditioner that was integrated with 6 ton-hr of NETenergy TES modules.
