Energy storage has been around since shortly after man harnessed fire. A pile or stock of wood is stored energy waiting to be
used. More recently, for hundreds of years. ice was harvested from ponds and lakes for preserving foods through the summer
and shoulder seasons. Electricity eliminated the need for ice harvesting and storage. Coming full circle, a nascent industry is
emerging to store the benefits of electricity, consuming it to ‘charge’ storage materials when electricity prices are low and
discharge the storage materials when electricity prices are high. The storage materials of choice are phase change materials
(PCMs). PCMs have a great capacity to release and absorb heat (refrigeration) at a wide range of temperatures from frozen
food warehouses at minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit to occupied room temperatures. These wide-ranging phase change
materials offer an enormous opportunity to shih loads in ‘grid-interactive. efficient buildings· {GIBs) in which PCMs do the
same thing as batteries or other storage technologies. but at a small fraction of the cost. These technologies are in the pre-emerging
technology phase of market adoption. but Jeff Ihnen believes they will become widely accepted due to their
flexibility. cost-effectiveness. simplicity. zero moving parts. longevity. and non-invasiveness. Join us as we explore the
potential of PCMs!
Presentation by Jeff Ihnen on Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Materials during the annual AEE World Energy
Conference.