Frosty facilities

GreenWave Capital LLC is a worldwide investor in environmentally responsible technology. With more than 5000 worldwide installations, GreenWave is bringing PermaFrost to HVAC units throughout the Middle East. Jeff Roberts sits down with MD Sales Saahil Mehta.

Why PermaFrost? Why the Middle East?

The Middle East has the world's highest average temperatures and because of that, 60-70% of energy consumption goes toward A/C. This market makes the most sense for something like PermaFrost because from its first installation, it reduces A/C costs by 40%.

It's a one-time installation that lasts the life of the system; it's a simple solution. Twelve months to two years is the typical ROI, but it all depends on the type of the system. Systems in the mid-range bracket are looking at savings of 1-2 million kilowatt hours of energy per year.

What energy trends are you seeing in UAE? What trends throughout the region?

If you look at the phenomenal growth that has taken place in this region over the last few years, whether commercial, residential or infrastructure, it is unable to keep up with the influx of people and growth of businesses.

Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and, to some extent, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are already restricting people's energy consumption because they simply don't have the supply to meet the growing demand of users. Jumeirah Lake Towers, for example, has several buildings running on generators because the infrastructure isn't ready to support these completed buildings.

If we look at it from a very macro level, A/C and lighting are the two biggest draws of electricity within facilities. Just by focusing on these two sectors we can reducing the amount of electricity consumed and we're helping the UAE government meet the demand. If suddenly the electricity consumption of Dubai is reduced by 20%, we're talking a savings of billions of kilowatt hours.

Would you say, then, that Dubai's vision was a bit too ambitious given the lack of infrastructure in place?

I think Dubai's vision was fantastic. In theory, it's a good problem to have; it was too successful. The amount of growth that the city experienced far exceeded the projections of all the analysts. Dubai has responded relatively well. Compared to other countries, just getting approval for a new highway is years in the making, but here, it's an instant decision.

In terms of permafrost Who are you currently working with in the region?

We've signed contracts for major installations with Al Qasbah (Sharjah) and Al Safeer Group (UAE-wide) and we've installed PermaFrost in Dubai's Shangri-La Hotel and Al Salam Centre.

All these years of subsidised electricity in Dubai has caught up to people here. People got used to paying 20 fils per kilowatt hour and if you own a house, the recent increase isn't very much. But if you're a large corporation, a shopping mall or even a large office building, you're immediately in the highest category, which means, you're electricity costs just increased 65%-from 20 fils to 33 fils.

For someone consuming 10 million kilowatt hours per year, which many buildings in Dubai are doing, what used to be AED 2 million has now increased to AED 3.3 million.

Is this a technology that's reserved for massive facilities or single-family homes?

We can put it in single-family villas all the way up to large shopping malls, big factories and hotels.

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