Demand Shifting Will Boost Thermal Energy Storage (TES)

Abstract

Therm al Ener gy Storage (TES) or off-peak cooling as th e techn ol-
ogy is also called may be read y to take off. Deregul ati on will brin g dr a-
m at ic cha nges to electrical rate structures that will impac t TES mor e than
any ot her load m an agem ent te chn ology. Pred ictions from crys tal ba ll
gazers va ry from one extreme to the othe r. Some say tha t the in d us try is
goi ng to slow d o wn . O the rs expe ct a rap id tak eoff. Gene rally, most ex-
p ert s pr ed ict that deregulation will br ing high er on- pea k costs and lower
off- pea k cos ts. If th is is tru e then TES is not only going to survive but it
wi ll prosp er.
The pr ogress and p opul ar ity of TES has been mu ch slower than
expec ted . Alt houg h the techn ology is not new and is un c ompli cated , it
is su rpr ising how man y probl em s have cl oud ed the success stories . In
thi s ar ticle we pos tula te th at wi th a par adig m shift in the pric ing of elec-
tricity fro m the "o ff- pea k" ro n-pea k" un iverse to a real time one , th e
stage is set for TES to finall y pay off thro ugh dem and shifting, resulting
in significan t cos t savings