Environmental Control Unit with Integrated Thermal Storage

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) proposes the development of an Environmental Control Unit (ECU) that uses an integrated Phase Change Material (PCM) to provide thermal energy storage. The PCM is contained within the system. During the thermal energy regeneration or collection stages of operation, the coolant is pumped through the PCM to remove or deposit thermal energy, respectively. Integration of the PCM with the ECU provides the capability to reject stored thermal energy when the ambient conditions are favorable for cooling and to store this energy when they are not. The ECU can then be sized for less demanding operating conditions rather than the high demand experienced during peak conditions. Sizing an ECU in this manner allows for reduction in component size, which leads to reduced power consumption by these systems while providing equivalent cooling. As of 2009, the U.S. Army fielded 15,000 ECU"s ranging in size from 6k to 60k BTUh (0.5 to 5 tons) as part of 180 different systems. Even for the smaller units addressed by the solicitation (9k and 18k BTUh), the savings for this small improvement are significant. Integrating thermal storage into ECU"s has the potential to provide these savings.