India is the world’s third‑largest consumer of primary energy.1 As the second‑most populous country with 1.4 billion people, India is also set to see the largest increase in energy demand than any other country over the next 20 years.2 The country is facing an urgent need for energy‑saving solutions.
Industrial and commercial facilities present a significant energy saving opportunity for Indian companies, particularly the hospital sector with its 24/7 operations and high energy‑consuming equipment. However, the adoption of energy efficiency solutions is constrained by the high upfront cost of key equipment retrofits associated with implementing new energy infrastructure and lack of mechanism to measure savings to justify the investment.
New Delhi‑based start‑up Smart Joules is tackling these constraints by shouldering the upfront capital cost of major retrofits including modern energy‑efficiency equipment and sensors, helping hospital and commercial buildings manage the challenges of escalating energy prices, with part of the savings shared with Smart Joules. This unique pay‑as‑you‑save solution is called JoulePAYS.
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, leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technology and its proprietary machine‑learning algorithms. Most importantly, DeJoule also offers clients an online dashboard where they have access to real‑time operational data and transparent accounting of energy savings.
Mainstreaming affordable energy‑efficiency‑as‑a‑service approach, Smart Joules’ solution allows Indian hospitals and commercial facilities to pursue profitable climate action and de‑risks energy efficiency decision‑makings by providing profit assurance. Smart Joules is currently managing over 40 active projects, the majority of which are in the hospital sector, including top‑20 Indian hospital chains such as Fortis, Apollo, KIMS and CARE.
In 2023, Smart Joules strengthened its partnership with Apollo Hospitals in a ten‑year initiative that provides the energy‑saving solution to 18 hospitals nationwide, estimated to mitigate 29 million tonnes of carbon emissions. After just four months of integrating JoulePAYS solution into Apollo’s infrastructure, 235 energy measures have been put into action, resulting in forecasted savings of over 235 million kWh and INR 2 billion (24 million USD). The company is also increasing its presence in other industries through a partnership with ITC Limited, a large Indian conglomerate.
Energy Efficiency
February 2021
Climate Mitigation