Bruce B. Lindsay, PE
Trane Technologiess
425 Birchington Lane
Melbourne, FL 32940
USA
407-919-4991
Region: XII
Honorarium: None
Bruce B. Lindsay is the Business Development Leader for Trane Technologies’ Thermal Energy Storage systems. He has been involved in thermal energy storage research, engineering, sales, and operation for over 30 years. Bruce received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University. He received a Master of Science in Energy Resources at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught graduate engineering courses. He received a Master of Management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Bruce began his energy career at Peoples Natural Gas in Pittsburgh in industrial sales, conducting energy audits in Western Pennsylvania. He underwent special industry training and received a Chartered Industrial Gas Consultant designation. He was recruited by the Gas Research Institute to conduct national programs to develop new natural gas-fueled cooling and heating systems, including a line of engine-driven chillers and a line of pulse combustion boilers. He was similarly recruited by the Electric Power Research Institute to serve as the Executive Director of the Thermal Storage Applications Research Center at the University of Wisconsin –Madison. He worked with utilities, HVAC manufacturers (including Trane and CALMAC), researchers, facility managers, and ASHRAE TC6.9, Thermal Energy Storage, to promote thermal energy storage systems. His role was expanded to become the spokesperson for the US electric industry on the phaseout of CFC refrigerants and refrigerant management strategies. He joined ASHRAE TC2.5, Global Climate Change, and eventually served as Chair. Utility deregulation reduced R&D funding, and Bruce embraced the HVAC industry, working for Comfort Systems USA in national account sales. He joined ASHRAE TC7.8, Owning and Operating Costs, and eventually served as Chair. He briefly administered energy efficiency programs for the State of Wisconsin and obtained his Professional Engineer license. He returned to the HVAC industry, working with Temp-Air, then Johnson Controls in a performance contracting role.
In 2017, Bruce took a new career path and became the Energy Manager for Brevard County Public Schools in central Florida, the 50th largest school district in the US. He managed 84 schools, of which 20 had ice storage systems. Bruce quickly re-established his contacts in the thermal storage industry to repair the 20+ year old systems. He received his Certified Energy Manager designation. He published a history of thermal energy storage in the ASHRAE Journal and received the US Green Building Council’s 2020 Best of Green Schools-Transformation Award for his work on an ASHRAE Building Energy Quotient pilot program. He joined ASHRAE TC9.7, Educational Facilities, and he was appointed to the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force—Schools Team. He currently serves as President of the ASHRAE Space Coast Section.
In 2022, Trane Technologies reached out to ask Bruce to lead their thermal storage business. Trane acquired CALMAC ice tanks in 2017, seeing the need to offer energy storage as the electric grid transformed from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Bruce now serves as Program Chair for TC6.9, Thermal Storage, and as Region XII Refrigeration RVC, and was honored to be named an ASHRAE Life Member. He is also active in the Association of Energy Engineers, Association of Energy Service Professionals, and US Green Building Council.
Topic
Energy Audit 101—Teaching Engineering Students the Basics Using ASHRAE Building EQ as a Teaching Platform
Most engineering curriculum does not include HVAC design courses. Few students ever receive hands-on training on chillers, pumps, and cooling towers. Florida Institute of Technology worked with the ASHRAE Space Coast Chapter and Brevard Public Schools to conduct energy audits using the ASHRAE Building EQ platform. The students shadowed BPS staff to measure light levels, temperature, humidity, and CO2 in classrooms and inspected the central energy plant serving three schools. They developed the ASHRAE Level 1 audit report with recommendations on exterior lights, interior lights, occupancy sensors, thermal energy storage, and solar PV. This has been expanded to permit cities to recognize leaders in energy efficiency, sustainability, and resiliency and promote widespread adoption of technology and best practices.
Evolution of Thermal Energy Storage for Cooling Applications
The electric utility industry has driven the design and marketing of thermal energy storage systems to balance loads, avoid construction of new plants, offer district cooling services, and increase the output of combustion turbines. Starting with northern lake ice farming, we will trace the events that forced major changes on the utilities and TES (Thermal Energy Storage) manufacturers, including Three Mile Island, phase out of CFCs, utility deregulation, and the transition to gas-fueled combustion turbines, and the transformation of the utility grid and Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for thermal storage.
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and 30%, 10%, 10% Investment Tax Credits for Thermal Energy Storage.
The massive IRA legislation extended the 30% investment tax credits for solar and wind energy. Schools and local/state governments had not been able to utilize those credits. The IRA fixed that, giving tax-exempt organizations two options to access those funds—direct payment and transfer of credits. The IRA also expanded the technologies available for the 30% tax credits, including energy storage systems and ground source heat pumps. Energy storage systems now include both electric batteries and thermal energy storage. To encourage US production, an additional 10% tax credit is available for energy storage systems if they exceed 40% domestic input. Another 10% tax credit is available for projects located in regions negatively impacted by Clean Energy. The legislation is intended to be a jobs act and calls for prevailing wage and apprenticeship programs. If projects do not comply with prevailing wage, the tax credits are only 6% and the adders 2%. If they comply with prevailing wage, there is a multiplier of 5, and the tax credits grow to 30%, 10% and 10%.
Electrification, Heat Pumps and Thermal Energy Storage: Using yesterday’s waste energy for tomorrow’s heating
“Electrification” has recently become a widely accepted roadmap towards the goal of a low-carbon future. The concept is easily understood in the transportation sector: cars using fossil fuels as their on-board energy source can never be carbon free. However, an electric car that is charged by a carbon free source, can be carbon free. When applied to buildings, one method is to envision stopping the flow of fossil fuels to them and having all energy come from the carbon-free grid of the future. Some skeptics of the concept believe it is a pipe dream to have a carbon-free electric grid but certainly you cannot have a carbon-free building if you are burning fossil fuels in them. Electrification will play a part in our low carbon future so understanding heat pumps, “free cooling” and thermal energy storage’s relationship to them, will be critical. The presentation will cover the multiple value streams of using thermal storage for heating and cooling in an all-electric building.
Energy Storage, Smart Grid and Zero Energy Buildings: Building Capacitance Together
GBCI Approved | 1 CE Hour | 0920017339\r\nAIA Approved | 1LU | MacCracken01
Whether the reason is Energy Independence, National Security or Climate Change, reducing our use of Carbon will be critical to our society’s future. One critically important aspect about fossil fuels is that they are not just forms of energy, they are forms of “stored” energy. If we are going to reduce our dependence on them by using renewable energy like Wind or Solar, which are forms pure energy, we will also have to replace the storage aspect of them. Energy Storage on both the Grid side and Building side of the meter will be covered along with their respective applications.
ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force Recommendations for K12 Schools—Ventilation, Filtration, and Training
ASHRAE ETF recommends increasing ventilation to current standards and installing MERV 13 filters in HVAC systems in schools to improve IAQ (Indoor Air Quality). The federal government is funding public schools with ESSER. Do K12 schools have any ventilation? Is it possible to increase ventilation in existing ductwork? Will MERV 13 filters fit in my air handling units, and will it damage my fan motors? What is a DOAS (Dedicated Outside Air Systems) and how will that help me increase ventilation? Will stand-alone HEPA filter packages work in a classroom? Should we consider unitary systems or a central energy plant? Will the supply chain be able to provide equipment and what flexibility will I need in scheduling? Will we need to shut down our schools and arrange for alternative classrooms during construction?
ICE—In Case of Emergency, Resiliency and Thermal Storage (Qualifies as a Refrigeration Topic for Chapters)
Thermal energy storage systems can provide flexibility and resiliency to air conditioning systems in hot and humid climates. This is especially important to military and mission-critical facilities. Chiller plants are sensitive to power quality issues on the grid and may experience nuisance outages. Thermal storage can permit quicker response and restore cooling. Thermal storage can also provide redundancy and provide a window for repair. New investment tax credits coupled with utility rebates make it attractive to add thermal energy storage to existing chiller plants.
