Frequently Asked Questions

We are based in Mountain View, California.

As global air temperatures rise, the demand for cooling is expected to grow. Air conditioning and refrigeration systems consume massive amounts of energy and are responsible for emitting significant amounts of greenhouse gases to our planet. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the energy demand for space cooling to triple by 2050. Without aggressive measures to increase the efficiency of air conditioning and refrigeration systems, we face overburdened electrical grids, increased GHG emissions and even warmer global temperatures. At scale, our passive cooling solutions offer significant energy, demand, and cost savings with a footprint that is smaller than a typical solar panel installation.

With a simple retrofit to a new or existing cooling system, SkyCool will provide a low-maintenance, cost-saving solution which operates silently, 24/7, with substantial electricity savings and zero water use. Our elegant and simple solution mitigates climate change, reduces urban heat island effects, and saves you money.

Radiative cooling is a natural phenomenon that humans have observed for centuries. Ancient Persians and Egyptians learned to use radiative cooling in the desert to make ice at night, which they used for food preservation. You probably have observed the radiative cooling effect if you have ever seen water condense or frost on the windshield of a car in the early morning.

Prior to SkyCool’s work, the effect of radiative cooling was not observed during the day. This is because outdoor, sky-facing surfaces heat-up when exposed to the sun. Our research resulted in the creation of multilayered films that reflect nearly all incident sunlight and emit energy in the mid infrared frequency range between 8 and 13 micrometers. As a result, our panels will be cooler than the air temperature in the middle of the day, when directly exposed to the sun.

The cooling effect from SkyCool Systems’ panels is enabled by a multilayer radiative cooling optical film. The film reflects sunlight to prevent the panels from heating up during the day and also emits infrared heat to the cold sky, which cools the panels and the fluid running through the panels. The cooling effect of the panels occurs 24/7.

The sky is one of the coldest resources we have simply because it is in close proximity to outer space. Normally, we do not have access to transmit heat to the upper atmosphere, but with the use of radiative cooling, our panels can emit heat from buildings to the cold sky and space, 24/7/365.

Our panels do not require electricity to cool, nor do they generate electricity. Our system will require a pump to circulate the water. This is the only source of electricity consumption. The panels save electricity when connected to air conditioners and refrigeration systems, and in some circumstances can be used to replace air conditioning systems.

Our panel system is designed to be simple and reliable. The panels have no electrical connections and the system does not require any interconnection to the grid. The only maintenance requirements are a light cleaning with water every six to eight weeks during lengthy dry periods.

Our panels will connect with any vapor compression cooling system. In some cases, the panels can even be used to replace air conditioning systems.

This is not something that we’re currently developing and would require a redesign of a solar module.

The panels were designed to have the same form factor as a commercial solar module. Our panels are 21.5 square feet (2 square meters) and weigh 27 lbs (dry weight).

The panels are connected together with push-to-connect fittings. A typical installation will involve the creation of a closed hydronic network of panels on the roof, where a small pump circulates water/glycol from the panels to a plate heat exchanger installed on the refrigerant piping of the condenser. The heat exchanger is installed by refrigeration contractors and the panels are set up on a roof with conventional solar racking and solar labor.

Clouds will reduce the efficacy of radiative cooling. Reduction of performance ultimately depends on how high and cold the cloud is (in general, high clouds are colder, low clouds are warmer). Low fog will be the hardest environment to operate in and can reduce cooling performance of the films and panels by approximately 30%.

Integration of our panels with refrigeration and air conditioning equipment will be much less influenced by cloud cover. Days with high cooling loads and warm air temperatures are often correlated with fewer clouds or high scattered clouds. Additionally, using our panels on refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, means we are cooling fluids that are initially above the ambient air temperature. When it is cloudy out, we are still able to provide cooling but more of the cooling will come from convection as opposed to radiation.

Our cooling panels do not contain any hazardous materials. The panels themselves are largely made of aluminum and can also be recycled at the end of life. The design of the panels longevity is commensurate to the lifespan of most mechanical HVAC equipment.

For our panel technology, we are focused on applications in:

• Data closets with cooling loads less than 10 tons
• Data centers and distributed compute facilities
• Refrigeration systems in supermarkets and industrial cold storage facilities.

For non-panel based applications, we are testing our passive cooling technology with outdoor electronics, shade structures, battery storage systems, metal roofs and transport.

We are focused on completing pilot deployments and projects in the United States. Additionally, we are currently only focused on applications in the industrial and commercial sectors where cooling is a dominant load.

The cooling effect from our panels occurs all day and is very well aligned with the 24/7 operation of refrigeration and air conditioning systems in supermarkets, refrigerated warehouses, data centers, hospitals, convenience stores, office buildings, and restaurants with walk in freezers. There are also numerous uses and direct applications of radiative film to reduce heat load including rooftops, outdoor shaded structures, refrigerated trucks, auto, rail and other transport, etc.

We are not currently providing applications of our technology in the residential space. If you are interested in using SkyCool’s panels on your house, sign up here for future updates.

We are looking for local HVAC/R, solar thermal and solar PV contractors and installers for projects in the United States. Contact us if you would like to learn more about installing our system.

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