Thermal Energy Storage Delivers Cost Savings for Daytona State College
Daytona State College (DSC) has become the latest school to implement a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system in the state. In 2007, DSC built a centrally-metered chiller cooling plant to serve 30 buildings using four 800 nominal ton chillers at its Daytona Beach Campus. With a summer peak demand of more than 2,000 kilowatts and an average monthly power bill of $40,000, DSC saw TES as an opportunity to help lower its bills and pump out big savings for years to come. The college’s board of governors approved the chilled water tank addition at the central plant in 2013 after receiving financial assistance at the state level, in addition to the potential FPL incentive.
In 2014, DSC built a 2.5 million gallon, eighty-foot tall TES tank that has already paid off significantly for DSC. The college’s central cooling plant’s first 6 months of power bills were about 50 percent lower than before and is now projected to save DSC more than $250,000* a year. Taking advantage of FPL’s TES program benefits also earned the college more than $1,000,000 in rebates.
How TES Works on Campus
At night, during off-peak hours when most of the campus building A/C systems are off, the DSC chiller plant begins to transfer chilled water to the TES tank. During peak hours, when demand for electricity from FPL’s customers is at its highest, the chillers shut down and the precooled water is pumped from the TES tank to the campus buildings without incurring the usual demand charges. The chillers are then recharging the tank at night when electric rates are lower, substantially reducing energy costs.
“The installation of TES at Daytona State College makes perfect business sense and ensures we continue being good environmental stewards,” explains Steve Eckman, Director of Facilities at Daytona State College. “Every dollar the college saves on energy costs is a dollar that can be invested in our future generation of leaders.”
Educational Facilities and FPL’s Stored Energy Solutions
Florida’s education systems have been saving money for more than two decades using the concept of stored energy for their cooling plants. Since 1992, FPL has awarded school districts, colleges and universities more than $30 million to install 200 thermal storage systems, which substantially help reduce peak demand and lower air conditioning costs. FPL is able to reduce grid system peaks and maximize the use of the most efficient power plants at night, when the least emissions per megawatt hour are produced.
For more information visit FPL’s Thermal Energy Storage program.
* Actual savings may vary by customer.
Chiller Water Tank at Daytona State College Central Cooling Plant
Watch the detailed TES construction time-lapse video
Thermal Energy Storage (TES) System Benefits
TES systems produce and store cold water or ice at night, when power is less expensive, and use it to cool buildings efficiently throughout the day. The results are a reduction in on-peak electricity use and, lower energy bills.
- The installation of TES can result in 20 to 50 percent savings on annual energy costs by taking advantage of FPL’s Time-of-Use and Seasonal Rates.
- TES provides environmental benefits by maximizing the use of FPL’s most efficient power plants at night, when the least emissions per megawatt hour are produced.
- Early investment in TES can result in lower upfront costs.
- TES can defer the cost of adding additional cooling equipment if air-conditioning needs expand.