Ecological architecture is taking an increasingly important role, especially in the design of buildings that are sustainable and aim to reduce their impact on the environment. Another way to do this in buildings whose construction is already old, is to carry out sustainable practices arising from climate change.
This is the case of the Metropolitan Life North Building, now the Eleven Madison. Situated in Manhattan, New York, it is one of the most important buildings in the city, which has bet on energy innovation with refrigeration technology to replace the conventional air conditioning by Trane Technologies. Through thermal energy storage, ice batteries are created that help to achieve energy efficiency without relying on the electrical grid. Imagine cooling your house with ice cubes?
Ecological architecture
Ecological architecture is emerging as a response from the world of design and construction to the prevailing need for cities to reduce their impact on the environment, thus contributing to the fight against climate change. It consists of designing buildings that minimize their impact and share space with nature, creating harmony.
Not all current buildings can be adapted to these requirements, as they were built years ago, so the ecological aspect was not taken into account at all. However, there are measures that can be taken by companies which at the level of infrastructure cannot make significant changes, but at the internal level they can.
Sustainable practices for older buildings
The Metropolitan Life North has been the star of city views in Manhattan for 30 years. It is an Art Deco skyscraper of 31 floors that houses in its greatest art offices.
Until recently, like most buildings on the planet, they used air conditioning to cool their rooms. Now, after wanting to add to the reduction of emissions, it has opted for the storage of thermal energy through industrial freezers, which will subsequently cool the building.
During the night, approximately 500.00 pounds of ice are generated and stored in the basement. During the day, ice is used to cool the building, thus avoiding connection to the electrical grid. These are set up day and night, in accordance with the cheapest energy. This method is much cheaper than traditional air conditioning, namely 40%.
Collaboration between the Eleven Madison and Trane Technologies Global Life Science Solutions
Trane Technologies Global Life Science Solutions is a company dedicated to creating comfortable and efficient spaces, but always keeping sustainability in mind. Loyal climate change fighters, they have managed to implement their method of cooling through air with ice in approximately 4,000 different sites around the planet. Although it was founded in 1913 as an on-the-job air conditioning plant, it has been able to reform and reorient itself towards a zero-emission business. The Madison Eleven requested their sustainable cooling services through frozen ice air, and has since reduced their cats to electricity.
According to the president of Trane Technologies’ Global Life Science Solutions, Holly Paeper, the advantage of this method is that it avoids overcharging the electricity grid, especially in summer when more houses and buildings use air conditioning equipment. Explains the cooling process as follows: “About 500,000 pounds of ice are created each night. And to put it in context, think of three buses full of ice cubes”.
Could this technology be contradictory?
Although the temperature of the building is regulated by ice during the day, it has been generated at night using electricity from the mains. Therefore, it cannot be said to be fully sustainable as it uses external energy sources. However, it is still cheaper and less polluting than using conventional air conditioning.
There are alternatives to using the mains at night, such as water-based coolants, but it is quite corrosive. Even if electricity is used during the night, not connecting to the mains during the day also prevents overcharging. All commercial and residential buildings will have to achieve emission reductions by 2027, so considering installing one of these Trane equipment would not be a bad idea.
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