Ice Bear® 30 Unit Ratings by Ton-hour
Modes of Operation
The Ice Bear unit is capable of operating in the following modes:
•
Ice Make mode
o
Night (off-peak) operation
o
Storing energy, charging, making ice
•
Ice Cooling mode
o
Peak period operation (call for cooling)
o
Discharging the stored energy, melting the ice
Note that Ice Make mode may also be referred to as “Ice Charge” or “Ice Build”. Ice Cooling mode may
also be known as “Ice Discharge” or “Ice Melt”.
Ice Make Mode
During Ice Make mode, the integral and factory pre-charged Ice Bear condensing unit (R-410A
refrigerant and miscible oil) provides low temperature refrigerant to the Ice Bear unit’s Refrigeration
Management System (RMS). On the secondary side of the RMS, a separate, oil-free R-410A charge
automatically circulates through a heat exchanger until the tap water freezes into a solid block of ice.
Ice make is typically 10 hours for a full 30 ton-hour charge and is made during the coolest time of night
or when electrical utility rates are at their lowest, or off-peak times.
Why Make Ice?
It takes 1 BTU of energy to lower the temperature of one pound of water 1
°
F.
For example, it takes 1 BTU of energy to lower the temperature of one pound of water from 38
°
F to
37
°
F.
However, it takes 144 BTU’s of energy to change the state of one pound of water from a liquid to a solid
(ice). Therefore, it takes 144 BTU’s of energy to change the state of one pound of 32
°
F water from a
liquid into ice.
The Ice Bear unit’s block of ice is sized to store 30 ton-hours of energy. There are 12,000 BTU’s per ton,
so the 30 ton-hours of stored energy are equivalent to 360,000 BTU’s. A 60,000 BTU/hour cooling load
or exactly the cooling load of one 5-ton Ice Coil (12,000 BTU’s / ton x 5 tons) running for six hours
would consume the entire Ice Make or 360,000 BTU’s of stored energy.
6 Ice
Bear
®
30 Unit Application Guide