SkyCool Systems: Cutting Your Air Conditioning Bill Using Tech and Nature

According to the Department of Energy, US homeowners spend over $29 billion each year on air conditioning. It’s a vicious cycle of worsening heatwaves and increased air conditioner use which aggravates the problem. These machines add to the current issue of climate change by emitting greenhouse gases. Enter SkyCool Systems, a company that champions sustainability by providing energy-efficient cooling solutions to consumers. They promise buildings an alternative to cooling down by harnessing the amazing powers of nature, more specifically, the sky. 

SkyCool Systems

Their tagline, “Harnessing the cooling potential of the sky,” seems more than fitting. They plan to cut our air conditioning bill by replicating how our planet cools itself. The clean energy company’s CEO and founder, Eli Goldstein, says that they will be using radiative cooling.

Radiative cooling is the process that our planet uses to cool itself naturally. It does this by emitting heat out in an infrared light or radiation form. SkyCool Systems will simulate this process and radiate the heat day and night, even under direct sunlight.

How They Do It

In the company’s five-year existence, they have been using nanotechnology in their production of rooftop panels. Said panels are equipped with optical films that send out infrared light to cool themselves. At first glance, these panels look much like solar panels, but they act the opposite in reality.

These rooftop panels reflect 97% of the sunlight that hits them. So, instead of absorbing the heat as solar panels do, they bounce them back. This, in turn, cools the surface beneath them. 

SkyCool Systems use a process of embedding a network of pipes underneath these panels. The tubes are filled with water which is cooled down by the boards. This is then allowed to flow into a refrigeration or an air conditioning system. The company has designed it to relieve the cooling mechanism from pressure. 

The process cools the panels naturally, so the need for external power is no longer necessary. This is precisely what makes it use less electricity. Thus, cutting our air conditioning bills significantly.

A Testimonial to its Efficiency

Jesus Valenzuela, store manager of a Grocery Outlet store in Stockton, California, is one of the many who swear by SkyCool Systems’ solution. He says that they didn’t see their electric bill go up but went down. He is more than happy to tell CNN that their store saves roughly $3,000 per month because of SkyCool Systems. 

Backed By Science

UCLA professor and SkyCool Systems co-founder Aaswath Raman is a pioneer in the field of radiative cooling. He, along with other scientists, has been studying the benefits of this process for years. Proposals for more solutions and models to harness radiative cooling have been laid out in recent months.

However, SkyCool Systems’ model isn’t one without a hitch. As anyone in the solar industry will tell you, challenges are inevitable. This model does not work well without ample sunlight. Goldstein admits that the technology works best in hot and dry climates. 

Additionally, a clear sky with sparse clouds is the ideal setup for the company’s technology. A situation that has no impediments to the radiative cooling window. The CEO likens this to carbon dioxide blocking light and trapping heat when water vapor blocks infrared light.

A Roadblock

A study conducted by China’s Fudan University states that the manufacture of the technology comes at a high price. Goldstein has confirmed this and says that SkyCool Systems’ will be more expensive than the price of solar panels. 

Plans to scale up production in Asia and Africa will hopefully bring the costs down, according to the CEO. In the meantime, SkyCool Systems is focusing on developing commercial applications of the technology.

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