Of the electricity consumption in office buildings in Japan, air conditioning accounts for some 50% and is a primary factor in the increase of the peak in power demand, particularly in summer. Aiming to level the load, both the power industry and the government are making efforts to promote thermal storage systems for air conditioning. This paper concerns a radiant cooling system for producing a better thermal environment, integrated with ice storage for load leveling. A model office building (in Tokyo, with a total floor area of 3300 m²) equipped with an ice storage and radiant cooling system is investigated. The simulation of the load-leveling effect, energy-saving possibility, and operating cost and an estimation of the construction cost of the building were carried out in order to comprehensively evaluate the system.

Units: SI