This summer, Coolerado blew away current air conditioner efficiency standards by 80 percent – but there was little fanfare. There’s nothing too exciting about air conditioning – it’s a box that sits on a roof after all. However, there are some geeks like us out there in the world who want to know how we did it. So we created a video that gives insight into just how it works.

There are two versions – one in Fahrenheit and one in Celsius. Both have closed captioning so you can read the narration if you don’t have speakers. You can also translate the narration from English to many other languages. These features are available by clicking on the little up arrow in the lower right hand corner of the video screen.

To view the video, visit the Coolerado homepage at: www.coolerado.com

From Ryan Smith, on behalf of the Coolerado Team

The back story on the news release comes from a green home event I attended this summer where several Coolerado residential clients were in attendance. Of course, I asked them how their Coolerado systems were performing and all but one gave very positive comments. It’s not that the one was unhappy, she was just proud that she had not turned her Coolerado on yet. This client is very green, and felt she was doing her part for the environment by suffering through the heat by only opening windows and running fans.

It is true that we had a very mild summer in parts of the west, but there is no reason to suffer at all if you have a Coolerado air conditioner. Her Coolerado system only draws 600 watts at full speed, and hers will average much less because of the variable speed thermostat controller she has. She will actually use less power running her Coolerado than using the multiple fans.

With a quick search you’ll find ceiling fans use about 100 watts a piece and you need to run one in each room for even moderate air movement. Portable fans vary all over the map, but the familiar box type draw over 150 watts each. Most whole-house fan websites recommend one or more for a small home and their wattage will add up to well over 500 watts, about double that for a medium sized home.

The new M30 for small homes only uses 450 watts when it is at full speed; at least as efficient as using house fans and you get cool, conditioned air. No comparison when it comes to comfort. Turn it on; guilt free.

No kidding; Coolerado doubled the aggressive target efficiencies.  “While our target was a 40 percent reduction in energy use and peak electricity demand compared to conventional cooling units, the Coolerado H80 tests indicate almost 80 percent energy-use savings and over 60 percent peak-demand reduction,” said Mark Modera, director of the UC Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center.

The “Western Cooling Challenge” was introduced at a Retailer Energy Alliance Supplier Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, and sponsored by the UC Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center.  The challenge was to develop an air conditioner to more efficiently handle the severe temperatures and lower humidity of the western USA.  Two climate conditions were chosen for the challenge:

1.    Peak condition (similar to Phoenix, Arizona) at 105°F dry bulb (DB) and 73°F wet bulb (WB), with the return air temperature being 78°F DB and 64°F WB.
2.    Annual average condition (similar to Sacramento, California) 90°F DB and 64°F WB, with the return air temperature being 78°F DB and 64°F WB.

Additional test conditions beyond the standard require more than twice the downstream duct pressure, which increases fan power, and all power to be included.  The unit has to be able to dehumidify to meet the test conditions, but the targets do not allow the dehumidification portion to be used in the efficiency calculation.  Finally, aggressive water consumption limitations were set.

A summary of the results from the DOE-National Renewable Energy Laboratory technical report:

Find the DOE Report, the UC Davis press release, the Coolerado press release and more at the Coolerado website by clicking here.

Coolerado is taking orders for the new H80 commercial hybrid unit now for delivery late this year.  Specifications for the H80 will be available on the Coolerado website by the end of August.  3D Drawing, Rev-It, and other files will be available mid September.

There’s a great quote in the video from the Mayor that starts with, “We would champion this kind of technology even if they were from Wyoming, Utah or New Mexico, but . . . ”  Another great quote came from the City’s Senior Mechanical Engineer, Greg Bertram, “We would give them a lot dryer and cooler air and on top of that we could avoid about $30,000 worth of cost to install the electrical service upgrade. . . ”

We commend the City of Denver for embracing a Big Green initiative and committing to install many more Coolerado air conditioners to cut energy costs, create green collar jobs, and stay net water zero. Yesterday, we issued a challenge to other government leaders to embrace a Big Green initiative.  See the press release at http://www.coolerado.com/news/press-releases/call-to-government-leaders/.

The Denver Post printed a nice article last week on how our technology is creating a healthy environment and creating jobs.  See the article at http://www.coolerado.com/cool-prospects-for-green-colo-ac-company/.

We have some great new stuff coming soon, so stay tuned!

From Rick Gillan, on behalf of the Coolerado Team

Please join us at this event that will bring together government officials, business leaders and many other individuals in support of Colorado’s sustainable industries and green collar workforce. Further details:

Who:   Hosted by Coolerado and Empire Gas and Electric
What:  Green Energy Celebration with Mayor Hickenlooper
Where:   Montbello Library Branch, 12955 Albrook Drive, Denver
When:   May 13, 2009 at 9:00 A.M.
Why:   To support Colorado’s green energy efficiency industry

Hope to see you there!

From Tim Heaton, VP, on behalf of the Coolerado Team

Please join us at the RETECH (renewable energy technology) exhibition at the Las Vegas Convention Center this Wednesday, February 24^th through Friday, February 27^th, 2009. Coolerado will be in Hall N1, at booth number 510.

RETECH 2009, the premier renewable energy trade show, is being held in Las Vegas this week, and Coolerado will be there operating an air conditioner capable of comfortably cooling a 3,000 square foot building. If you’re thinking, “The equipment must be huge, and has to require industrial wiring to power it” you don’t know Coolerado – but perhaps you should. The air conditioner on display will use only 600 watts of power – less than what is needed to light six, 100 watt light bulbs – and will provide 72,000 BTUs of cooling.

Coolerado air conditioners have another cool feature for the renewable power industry – a cool waste air stream that normally exhausts to the atmosphere, but can be ducted behind PV panels to improve their performance by more than 15 percent. Show attendees will be able to feel the air streams for themselves to see how it works. Our Coolerado staff will also have a small A/C unit there where they can add extremely hot air at over 140 degrees F, and cool it down by over 80 degrees using only the power of a small fan. This may be the most interesting thing you see in Las Vegas this week even if you catch a few shows!

Catch a preview by visiting the Coolerado website or watching a short YouTube video on the solar powered air conditioning system. You might even want to see what the Denver Business Journal had to say about Coolerado in last week’s edition by clicking here.

Hope to see you in Las Vegas!

Tony McDonald – VP/Sales

We’ve been working very hard these last few years, perfecting a unique air conditioning technology that will really change the way America and the world stays cool.  Our clients around the globe have dramatically reduced how much electricity they use, and we truly appreciate the award and the recognition for the part we are playing in the new energy economy.

Our units work on an amazingly small amount of power…about 600 watts, which is about a third of the power of a hair dryer.  That’s as green as it gets these days in the A/C world, and better than anything else on the market.  And one of the reasons we got the award is we showed our systems can take air conditioning completely off the grid using a small amount of solar energy, about 4 standard solar panels worth.

It was a great project.  We put a Coolerado C60 A/C unit on a trailer (a C60 will cool a 3000 sq. ft. building), connected 4 solar panels over the top, and showed this system at trade shows, street fairs, and music concerts…we even went to the Democratic National Convention.  What surprised people the most was not only the solar powered cool air they enjoyed right on the street, but that the hotter it got, the better it worked!

We know there’s no free lunch, but our solar-powered A/C came pretty close! If you’re interested in learning more, check out the video here.

–Mike Luby, Coolerado CEO