As new regulations to limit buildings’ environmental impact are being rolled out, engineers are finding innovative solutions to address the significant pressure building owners are under. One of these cutting-edge solutions is using ice to heat a building — essentially, taking advantage of a building's “free heat.”

Among the main ways buildings impact the environment is by burning fossil fuels. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, buildings’ consumption of heating oil, propane and natural gas accounts for an estimated 28% of the global emissions that drive climate change.

As this number continues to grow, the NRDC strongly recommends that building owners turn to electric solutions. It estimated that utilizing electric systems and appliances could cut total U.S. carbon emissions by a billion tons annually.

Owners that are interested in moving toward a more electric future can take a major step by embracing what may seem like a contradictory concept: using ice to heat their properties.

“Heating with ice is a new application of something that has been around for decades,” Boland Trane Sales Engineer Trey Eaton said. “It not only allows you to electrify, but it saves money by allowing you to reuse energy instead of throwing it away.”

Electric heat pumps, like Boland Trane’s comprehensive chiller-heater systems, can use thermal energy storage to heat and cool buildings. These systems remove heat from tanks filled with water to make ice and then add heat to melt that ice to provide cooling. The process of making ice generates hot water, so depending on the season or the time of day, a system can use the hot water to heat a building and then store the ice for future use.

“The process of making the ice actually heats the building,” Eaton said. “Then, you can store that ice for later when you need it for tenant comfort.”

He said that every building has different heating and cooling needs, but in many cases, buildings need to be warmed up in the early mornings, before tenants arrive and the space is empty, and then cooled throughout the day to keep people comfortable. Often property managers handle this by burning fossil fuels in the morning and then cranking up the air conditioning in the afternoon, but there is a better way.

“As the building becomes occupied throughout the day, we shift from needing heat to needing cooling,” Eaton said. “We can melt the stored ice to cool the building and start the process all over again.”

Eaton said the cheapest form of heating or cooling is the form individuals have already paid for. With these thermal storage systems, building owners can take full advantage of the ice and hot water they already have, reducing utility costs and bringing them one step closer to converting to a fully electric operation.

He added that under the Inflation Reduction Act, building owners may qualify for tax incentives for installing these more sustainable systems. The IRA directed $369B toward fighting climate change, including offering tax credits to encourage investment in greener HVAC equipment.

Building owners who are interested in exploring how they can adopt this technology can reach out to the professionals at Boland Trane, who can provide them with the full mechanical package needed to make the switch to a chiller-heater system and orchestrate the installation, Eaton said. Boland Trane can also help owners continuously monitor their energy consumption, examine their building data and determine where they can make improvements to reduce their usage and costs.

“We can help owners evaluate their heating and cooling needs to determine which type of system is best for them,” he said. “We get their controls in a position that allows them to best optimize their building performance and keep their utility bills down.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Boland and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.