Analysis of energy consumption and operating costs of a cold storage airplane pre-conditioning air unit

The integration of airplane pre-conditioning air units with cold storage technology holds broad application prospects. By employing cold storage technology, airports can achieve peak load shifting and valley filling, thereby alleviating daytime electricity supply and demand conflicts and effectively gaining economic benefits through national time-of-use electricity pricing policies. This paper proposed a cold storage airplane pre-conditioning air system and its operational strategies. Utilizing components such as a heat exchanger, a cold storage tank, and a solution circulation pump, the system can achieve both cold storage and release functions. The operational strategies, aimed at minimizing energy consumption, include the cold storage priority and proportional control strategies, with the latter requiring consideration of the unit's optimal cold storage. Based on annual meteorological data from Nanjing, the standard jet bridge at gate 183 of Nanjing Lukou Airport was used as an example to calculate and analyse the energy consumption and operating costs of the unit. These results were then compared with those of a traditional airplane pre-conditioning air unit to explore its economic benefits. The findings indicated that, during the annual cooling season, although the cold storage airplane pre-conditioning air unit consumed an additional 9663.26 kWh of electricity, increasing the electricity consumption rate by approximately 12.26%, it saved 11,831.23 CNY in operational electricity costs, with a cost-saving rate of about 14.87%. This demonstrates that the cold storage airplane pre-conditioning air unit effectively achieved the trans-spatial and temporal transfer of energy density, balanced the airport's peak and valley electricity differences, enhanced the safety of power grid operations, and brought significant economic benefits to the airport.