India is the world’s third-largest consumer of primary energy1 and faces an urgent need for energy saving solutions. This is especially true for the hospital sector, as high energy-consuming equipment and 24/7 operations make hospitals one of the most energy-consuming buildings in India. Industrial and commercial facilities present a significant energy savings opportunity for Indian companies, including those outside the hospital sectors. However, the adoption of energy efficient solutions is constrained by the upfront costs associated with implementing new energy infrastructure.
Energy efficiency solutions are required to manage the challenges of escalating energy prices, and the expanding role of power-dependent technology in the delivery of care. However, traditional energy-efficiency solutions are out of the price range of many potential commercial customers.
New Delhi-based start-up Smart Joules is mainstreaming affordable energy-efficiency-as-a-service for Indian hospitals and commercial buildings. Each equipment installed by Smart Joules is governed by an operating system called DeJoule, which continuously adjusts equipment settings to optimize both performance and energy consumption. Most importantly, DeJoule offers clients an online dashboard where they have access to real-time operational data and transparent accounting of energy savings.
Smart Joules also offers Joule Pays, a pay-as-you save service that replaces old and inefficient equipment to save on energy, improve reliability and efficiency, and extend equipment lifespan and Joule Cool, a cooling-as-a service solution for new buildings and factories.
The company currently has 40 active projects, majority of which are in the hospital sector. It is estimated that Smart Joules will be able to mitigate 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025 by lowering the energy consumption of their clients.
One of Smart Joules’ clients, Apollo Hospitals, has reported a 2.9 tons reduction in carbon emissions with the help of JoulePAYS, which the healthcare company used for energy-efficient cooling, heating, ventilation, and automation2. Since working with Smart Joules, Apollo Hospitals’ introduced 235 energy conservation measures into its infrastructure, which is expected to produce savings of over 235 million kilowatt hours and INR2 billion by 20303.
Through this investment, ADB Ventures aims to create a category-leader in energy-efficiency-as-a-service in emerging Asia and support Smart Joules to build up its energy management team and work with more hospitals, commercial buildings, and industries.
Currently managing over 40 active projects, the majority of which are in the hospital sector, Smart Joules retrofits the buildings with modern energy-efficiency equipment and sensors; and maximizes energy savings by leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technology and proprietary machine-learning algorithms.
Energy Efficiency
February 2021
Climate Mitigation