Blue Frontier adds thermal storage to commercial air conditioning
Blue Frontier builds equipment for commercial buildings that dries and cools incoming air while storing capacity for later use. Its first commercial product is a ventilation unit that can work alongside existing air-conditioning systems.
A different job for air conditioning
Its first commercial product, BF-DOAS, is a dedicated outdoor air system: a unit that conditions fresh air before it enters a building. Available in 15- and 20-ton sizes, it is aimed at ventilation and humidity control rather than simply replacing every air conditioner already on a site.
For a building owner, that distinction matters. Adding a separate ventilation unit could address incoming humid air while leaving existing rooftop equipment in place, rather than requiring a complete replacement of that equipment.
Separating moisture from temperature
A liquid desiccant, a material that absorbs moisture, dries the outdoor air. An indirect evaporative process then cools it. Blue Frontier also builds thermal storage into the equipment so that some electricity use can be shifted away from peak periods.
That gives the product two jobs: prepare fresh air for a building and give its operator more flexibility over when part of the cooling work uses electricity. The value of that flexibility will depend on the building’s operation and electricity pricing.