Ice Energy's Ice Bear -- Relief for Air Conditioners

I found this on Got2beGreen-- it's a contraption made by Ice Energy that supposedly reduces electricity used by air conditioners by 30%. It works by freezing water at night, which then cools the refrigerant flowing through tubes surrounded by the ice during the day-- see more abstracts from their site below. They have several sizes of units that can be used by residential and commercial applications-- price is not listed on the website but their salesperson looks quite pleasant and helpful. 

I love things like this that should provide transitional help lightening our carbon emissions but work within our existing infrastructure and investments that people have already made.

Seamless. The Ice Bear® 50 product pairs its patented energy storage module with an off-the-shelf air conditioning condensing unit, integrating seamlessly with conventional rooftop and split-system air conditioners that cool almost all light-commercial and residential buildings.

Pre-engineered. The energy storage module is an integrated unit consisting of the Refrigerant Management System (RMS), CoolData® controller, and insulated storage tank. The tank contains a specially designed heat exchanger submerged in about five hundred gallons of tap water.

The Ice Bear module is paired with a 5 Ton condensing unit used to freeze water in the Ice Bear insulated storage tank.. It operates the condensing unit at night, when energy is less costly. During the day when the thermostat calls for cooling, standard refrigerant is circulated through coils in the ice. The chilled refrigerant then flows to the building’s air-conditioning system inside the home or business to provide immediate, efficient cooling.

• Cooling capacity is created and stored during cooler evening temperatures
• Lowest cost of energy
• Highest condensing unit efficiency
• Ice Bear module provides daytime cooling
• Uses only 300W during the day
• Superior cooling performance

The Ice Bear product reduces building peak demand associated with cooling by up to 95% because the peak demand setting condensing unit is off during the day.