A Denver air conditioner company called Coolerado (ba-dum-bum) recently conquered a UC Davis cooling challenge with a rooftop unit that uses less than half the energy of a standard one.
The Western Cooling Challenge started last summer as a way to encourage manufacturers to make more efficient products and help get them into use. Coolerado's H-80 rooftop unit is intended for 1,500 to 3,000 square feet in a light commercial building. UC Davis put the unit through hardcore testing at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The contest organizers were just hoping to see units reduce energy use by 40 percent, but Coolerado's entry achieved nearly 80 percent energy savings and 60 percent peak-demand savings. With rebates, tax incentives, and energy savings, the unit's return on investment is two years, Coolerado CEO Mike Luby told UC Davis. UC Davis has plans to test units from five more manufacturers in the next few months so we'll have to see how Coolerado ultimately fares against energy-efficient competition.
Earlier this year Coolerado made the news with a solar-powered AC unit that provides 6 tons of cooling using 600 watts--enough for 3,000 square feet. All this AC sounds infinitely better than the ice pack I've been hugging while counting the days until fall, but at least I'm saving energy.
Photo: Coolerado CEO Mike Luby with one of the company's solar-powered AC units. Credit: Kathleen Levine, Denver Business Journal.
Tags: Carbon Footprint, Cooling, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Government,
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