Using an Ice Block to Heat and Cool Office Buildings

(Luzerner Zeitung, June 20, 2017)

In two office buildings, ice is being used as a storage for heat. Both buildings connect to a 360 cubic meter ice block. On their roofs, there is a 16 kilometers long solar absorber. A heat pump transfers heat to the ice block during the summer months, and in the winter it works in reverse, returning the stored heat to the building. The two buildings use several heat pumps to cool and warm different zones. The cost of the system is around the same as of a traditional geothermal heat pump.