The French start-up Caeli Energie has just presented a air conditioner of a new kind that will consume 5 times less electricity than a conventional system, all without using any refrigerant.
The project was born at the CNRS, always in search of new innovations, and now associates the INP of Grenoble.
Eco-responsible air conditioning? It would be possible!
In 2019, work on a modest-sized air conditioner, capable of dispensing with highly polluting and dangerous refrigerants and consuming much less energy than current models, began at the CNRS. In 2020, Stéphane Lips and Rémi Pérony founded Caeli Energie to develop the idea. Today tested in several nursing homes and in some communities, the air conditioner would consume only 60 watts per hour, against 1,500 to 2,500 for conventional devices. This energy saving corresponds to the absence of hydrofluorocarbons, which will soon be banned, and to soaring electricity prices.
” It’s almost selfishness, I air-condition my office, but I heat up the neighbor’s air. At Caeli, that’s not it. We do not increase the urban heat island phenomenon “, says Rémi Pérony.
The latter explains that everything is produced in France with 80% recycled plastic bottles, cellulose and viscose. The system works with air and running water (0.5 to 2 liters per hour), which avoids problematic fluids. From this autumn, a new production line will be installed in Isère in order to multiply by 50 the construction of thermodynamic engines, before sending them to the assembly line in Haute-Savoie. Out of the factory, we have a relatively small device, 30 kilos empty, capable of cooling 40 m2.
100% made in France which has a cost
Caeli therefore uses an evaporative cooling system (indirect adiabatic air conditioning), as is the case when we sweat. In doing so, it does not evacuate hot air to the outside, consumes less and pollutes less.
Inevitably, such an approach attracts investors, who are already very involved in the next generation of air conditioners. Bill Gates has himself invested in the start-up Blue Frontier, and other American funds are interested in Caeli. If the principle already exists on the side of certain Australian and Chinese companies, the devices are too large to integrate European homes.
” The level of performance of existing installations is not sufficient to satisfy users. Our real value is being able to go much lower in temperature. We boosted a natural process, which already exists on the market, but with a higher performance adds Rémi Pérony.
However, there are several constraints. First, you need to be able to connect the system to running water and drill two holes in the wall. For these reasons, individuals’ access to the product from this fall will be subject to an eligibility questionnaire. If validated, it will take 3,000 euros for the purchase, installation and commissioning. This method will in any case perhaps be more accessible than the cold offered by a Parisian company.
Source : France Blue
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