It’s interesting how sometimes obvious solutions can be novel in other domains. One example is using ice to cool a building. The premise of the system is this: it’s cheap to buy electricity at night, expensive during the day. Why not make ice at night (consumes a lot of electricity), and then use the ice to cool the building during the day (consumes little electricity), thereby saving money on cooling bills? Here’s a New York Times article on one such install in Manhattan. Interesting.