IceBrick Technology Explained

Air-conditioning accounts for a significant proportion of global energy usage. Recent data suggests that buildings account for 76% of all electricity usage, with up to 70% attributable to cooling systems. This makes air-conditioning one of the largest global contributors towards climate change. As the world gets hotter, demand for air-conditioning will only continue to grow. Nostromo’s IceBrick technology provides an innovative solution to sustainably manage this increased demand while reducing the price of energy for the end consumer.

How are buildings cooled?

To understand the IceBrick system, we first need to understand how buildings are cooled. Large commercial buildings are cooled using chillers. Chillers use refrigerants to cool water, and then distribute this cooled water throughout the building. The cold water cools the air in each room before returning to the chiller to start the process over again. Repeatedly transforming water from warm to cool is extremely energy intensive and puts enormous strain on both cities’ electrical grids and consumers’ energy bills. This is especially problematic in the evening, when energy demand is at its highest and peak hour surcharge rates apply.

How can IceBrick technology help?

IceBrick technology is a thermal energy storage solution. Water is frozen into cells to create the equivalent of a water-based battery. The water freezes during non-peak hours when energy is cheap and renewably sourced. The system discharges during peak hours by releasing energy at a stable rate to effectively cool buildings. Because the water passing through the buildings is already cold, the chillers have no need to turn on. This way, the building avoids using energy during peak hours, which saves money and reduces carbon emissions. 

Advantages of the IceBrick system

The IceBrick system can turn your building into an energy storage asset. It allows the building to choose when it uses energy from the grid for cooling and when it uses stored energy in order to optimize its cost reduction or sustainability goals.  By shifting power consumption for cooling from on-peak polluting hours to off-peak clean hours the building enjoys three benefits. It increases your building’s resilience against peak-hour brownouts and blackouts. It also decreases your energy bills, by eliminating the need to pay for expensive peak-hour energy surcharges. Finally, the IceBrick system lowers your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of energy consumed during the hours the grid supplies energy from fossil fuels. 

The IceBrick system can be fully retrofitted on existing buildings, with its modular system allowing for unparalleled flexibility. You can install the exact number of bricks needed to service your energy needs, and can install them on the roof, in basements, on walls, or even use them as an architectural feature. The IceBrick system has a wide range of applications: from hospitals, to hotels, to schools and universities.

Is the IceBrick system considered ‘sustainable’?

The system uses one of the world’s cleanest energy sources - water. Because water never degrades, the same water can be frozen and unfrozen again for centuries. It is also safe - containing none of the harmful toxins, or end-of-life problems that plague other energy storage alternatives. Furthermore, the entire system is made out of 100% recyclable material.

Why not use lithium-ion batteries instead?

Lithium batteries are generally not suited to ‘behind the meter’ storage. They can create fires, release toxic gasses and even create explosions when they fail. For this reason, most lithium storage batteries are kept ‘in front of the meter’, typically on solar farms. 

‘In front of the meter’ storage isn’t ideal for a few reasons. Firstly, this stored energy still needs to go through the grid before it arrives at your site. There is a massive amount of infrastructure needed to take the energy from its source (the solar farm) to the grid itself. 

Furthermore, lithium-ion batteries are made from finite resources that are often environmentally and ethically problematic to source and produce. The batteries are also environmentally hazardous to dispose of - and this will become even more difficult at scale. If reliant on lithium storage, California alone will produce 36,000 tons of annual lithium waste by 2045, which has the potential to create an environmental crisis of its own. 

IceBrick and Lithium-Ion Comparison

How can I get the IceBrick system?

You can decrease both your carbon footprint and your energy bills with the IceBrick system. To learn more get in touch with the team at Nostromo. They’ll work with you to learn more about your energy needs and walk you step by step through the process.