Now, a new AC with ice

Faced with acute power crunch, China has started testing a new type of air-conditioner that uses ice to cool air, a method that can cut down electricity consumption as much as 90 per cent, a media report said on Saturday.

The unit, to go on trial in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guandong Province, uses ice that the device produces during off-peak night hours to cool the air during the day.

Called an Ice Storage Air-Conditioner (ISAC), the device will be introduced throughout the province next year if it performs as well, China Daily reported.

The office building of the provincial Economic and Trade Commission will serve as a test site for the AC, Director of the Commission's Energy Department, Chen Jian said.

The basic concept of ISAC is an air-conditioning unit that makes ice during off-peak hours, when electricity costs only 27.8 per cent of the rate charged during the day.

During the day, instead of using a power-hungry five-kilowatt compressor, the unit pumps air cooled by the ice using a motor that needs only about two per cent of the electricity the compressor would use.

Compared to a traditional AC, electricity consumption could be cut by as much as 90 per cent, Chen claimed.

He estimated that using this system in the commission's building could cut their yearly electricity bill by about 290,000 yuan ($35,758).

"If the experiment goes smoothly, almost all office buildings and superstores will implement this new energy-saving device from next year," Chen said.