in a recent article on reminetwork.com, barbara carss reviewed new technology that was presented at the sustainable built environment conference of the americas that was held in toronto in september. carss noted that electrical supply, energy storage, and thermal management technologies “can have bearing on how buildings use resources, discharge waste and function in both normal and adverse conditions.”

the sustainable built environment conference of the americas was held in toronto. (wikimedia commons)

large electrical suppliers, such as toronto hydro, are dealing with ever-increasing demands in cities while also managing aging infrastructure and the additional load of renewable sources that are being tied into the grid.

energy storage provides a means for handling a crisis, such as a flood knocking out a power station or a hurricane ravaging the coast line. in those moments of need, rather than forcing consumers to prepare for blackouts or lower consumption by a significant amount, suppliers can lean on back-up supplies.

carss wrote. “energy storage could augment system capacity during peak demand periods and help defer the need to invest in expanded transmission capacity, freeing up funds for other priorities.”

the energy demands of cities can also be augmented by a renewed focus on thermal management of buildings through other means than basic hvac solutions. researchers at ryerson university in toronto have been experimenting with phase change materials that “release stored energy as heating or cooling as they move between liquid and solid state.”

refrigeration is another system that could be updated with an increase in carbon dioxide refrigerants replacing the standard, and environmentally unfriendly, hydrofluorocarbons. this method, according to carss, has already been adopted by a number of food retailers and by data centers that “require just 9 kilowatts of electricity to provide 3,500 tons of cooling.”

to read the full article, visit https://www.reminetwork.com/articles/breakthrough-technology-eases-risk-management.