Page 43 - Climate Control News Magazine October 2018

Grant to develop hybrid
air conditioning system
NETENERGY, A CLEAN tech startup com- pany based on technology developed at the Uni- versity of Illinois in Chicago is set to commer- cialize its unique hybrid, super-efficient air-conditioning system with funding from the US Department of Energy.
The $500,000 grant was awarded to NETen- ergy's partner, National Renewable Energy Lab- oratory, as part of the DOE's Technology Com- mercialization Fund.
The International Copper Association and In- gersoll-Rand are commercial partners on the grant, which will provide cash and in-kind matching funds to the project.
The grant will help NETenergy, founded by Said Al-Hallaj, a research professor of chemi- cal engineering in the UIC College of Engi- neering, to commercialize the hybrid thermal
“THE TECHNOLOGY WILL ALLOW THE SIZE OF HVAC SYSTEMS TO BE SMALLER WHILE PERFORMING BETTER.”
- PROFESSOR SAID AL-HALLAJ
energy storage technology, which is integrated into a cooling system.
The technology centres around a "thermal battery" that stores thermal energy as opposed to electrical energy.
The cooling system will run at night, when electricity is cheap, and charge the thermal bat- tery, which will then discharge energy during the day when electricity is priced higher. The goal is
The technology centres around a "thermal battery" that stores thermal energy as opposed to electrical energy.
to reduce the cost of cooling in commercial buildings, which are subject to additional charg- es during peak cooling demand times.
"The technology we are developing will al- low the size of HVAC systems to be smaller, while performing better and more efficiently," Al-Hallaj explained.
The funding will help NETenergy construct a hybrid HVAC prototype and develop it for com- mercialization in the next 12 to 18 months. The prototype will be tested at the National Renew- able Energy Laboratory in Colorado and validat- ed through pilot testing. ✺
Residential Air Conditioning
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS OCTOBER 2018 43