Buildings consume about half of the world’s energy. The UK start-up Artica could make them greener with cooling technology that uses 90 percent less energy than conventional air-conditioning. Co-founder Mathew Holloway explains.
 | Mathew Holloway, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Artica Technologies Ltd"Someone once told me that art is better in a recession, because there is less money around. The same is true for ideas." (Photo: Artica) |
Allianz and CNBC’s Good Entrepreneur competition seeks product ideas that have the potential for both economic success and a positive environmental impact. CO2. And HFCs are poisonous as well.
What difference would this system make?
First of all, it has low running costs. It reduces energy bills by 90 percent. But we also have lower maintenance costs, because we have a simpler working mechanism. It also works with existing infrastructure, it can ‘plug and play’ into the existing ventilation system. It can also be used to increase the performance of an existing air conditioning system.
There are also practical reasons. You cannot always install the outside systems necessary for conventional air conditioning in old and listed buildings, because of planning or space issues. We don’t need an outside unit at all.
 | Picture Gallery (click on the image to start)Artica offers a cooling system that could save a lot of energy. See how it will work |
The last reason is environmental. We have been approached by many customers who don’t want to use conventional air conditioning anymore as they are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. We also do not have issues with things like condensation and the resulting build up of moisture and bacteria that can lead to Legionnaires’ disease. We actually filter the air and remove particles and pollutants to create a fresh and healthy environment.
That sounds impressive, but what are the drawbacks?
Initially we are focusing on Northern Europe and North America, which are obviously huge markets and have a perfect climate for the system. But the basic product isn’t so suitable for tropical regions, because the temperature difference between day and night is relatively small.
However by combining our system with a conventional air conditioning system you can extend the range of environments where it is applicable but still get huge energy savings.
In the Middle East, for example, you often get a 20-25 degrees Celsius temperature drop between day and night, which we can take advantage of. Running an air conditioning system at such high temperatures would be very costly. But if you combine our system and conventional air conditioning, you will get the same cooling with significantly lower energy consumption.
You are trying to set up a new business in the midst of an economic crisis. What are your chances of success?
To some extent the current economic crisis plays into our hands. As people are looking to save money wherever they can, Artica enables them to adopt a green and sustainable system that reduces their costs.
And if you have the right idea at the right time, it doesn’t really matter. Someone once told me that art is better in a recession, because there is less money around. The same is true for ideas. If there is less money around, you have to think harder.
You are participating in the Green Entrepreneur competition. What is in it for you?
As an early stage company we are always looking to get exposure and endorsements to gain credibility with our industry and our customers. The publicity that we get from the GE competition helps us a lot, even just getting down to the last three is already great. It also helps build our network and gain advice from successful businessmen and mentors.
Where do you see your project in two years time?
We need to break even with our products, become self-sufficient. We are looking to launch the system later this year and spend the following 12 months establishing ourselves within key markets.
In one to two years we will be positioned to address wider markets both in the UK and overseas. With 45 percent of the UK’s energy usage being consumed by buildings, our project has a real and immediate opportunity to make a huge impact.
editor: Thilo Kunzemann
publishing date: September 28, 2009
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