CALMAC, a manufacturer of energy storage systems, announces that its founder, Calvin D. MacCracken, was posthumously inducted into the ASHRAE Hall of Fame, joining notable members Willis H. Carrier and Reuben N. Trane. MacCracken was best known for his work in off-peak cooling technology and energy-conserving options in ice rinks. CALMAC’s IceBank energy storage technology, which dramatically reduces cooling energy costs for commercial buildings by shifting cooling production to off-peak hours and continues to create a more sustainable future, is just one of MacCracken’s more than 200 products and 80 patents.
The ASHRAE Hall of Fame honors members who have made contributions to the advancement of sustainable technology for the built environment or the development of ASHRAE as a society. In addition to pioneering IceBank technology, which played a key role in creating the thermal energy storage market, MacCracken is credited with inventing the IceMat ice rink system which is still used in thousands of portable and permanent rinks worldwide, SunMat roll-out solar collectors and comfort controls for astronaut space suits.
Another of MacCracken’s innovations, the low-emissivity ceiling, continues to be a fixture of indoor ice rink technology. Currently installed in more than 2,000 indoor rinks around the world, the patented Alumazorb Low Emissivity Ceiling dramatically reduces radiant heat loads from the warm ceiling to the cold ice below, reducing energy consumption for freezing ice by up to 30 percent. In 2010, MacCracken was honored for his contributions to ice sports through posthumous receipt of the Ice Skating Institute’s Frank J. Zamboni Award.
“I am deeply honored to accept this recognition on behalf of my father, but also for the company that he worked so hard to build,” says Mark MacCracken, CEO of CALMAC. “Beyond the good fortune of being his son, I had the privilege to work next to him for more than 20 years, and I know he would have been thrilled to receive this award. He loved innovation and ASHRAE. It’s a pleasure to see his work still influencing the industry today.”
MacCracken’s other notable inventions include the JetHeet furnace, the AquaJet water powered sump pump, the KPad for burn victims, the HI-V high-velocity furnace with flexible duct system for adding central heating and air-conditioning to homes, as well as the Roll-A-Grill hot dog cooker.