Smart Joules and energy saving solutions

The Delhi-headquartered Smart Joules is an energy efficiency startup that built its expertise through the re-design, retrofit, management and financing of energy systems in hospitals. Leveraging its knowledge of hospital operations, energy systems (requirements, configurations, products generally used), and decision-making, SJ provides a full-stack solution with guaranteed 15 per cent energy savings and zero upfront costs to the customer.

Energy efficiency, or the use of less energy to obtain the same result, is one of the most environmentally impactful climate interventions. It reduces the fuel consumed over the lifetime of a product or system, thereby lowering GHG emissions.

In countries like India, where the vast majority of electricity is derived from fossil fuels and certain communities experience significant energy shortage, systematic energy efficiency has the multiplier effect of increasing access for energy-poor communities, improving public health via improved air quality and reduction of fossil fuel imports.

Operational since 2015, the company has developed expertise in the design and management of cooling systems. Founded by Arjun Gupta, the strength of the Smart Joules team has enabled it to build a bluechip customer base that includes large hospital chains like Apollo, Max, Fortis, KIMS, Aster and Aravind.

The JoulePAYS business line leverages hospital industry knowledge -- understanding of technology, operations and energy systems -- to help customers save between 15-40 per cent of their average monthly energy expenses. This is done by evaluating the existing system, design for energy efficiency, retrofitting parts of the existing system with more efficient counterparts, and long-term management of the system using a self-developed IOT technology for continuous energy optimization – DeJoule.

Through the duration of the contract, SJ provides operation and management (O&M) services to ensure that optimal savings are realised. The system design ensures that most systems are automatically managed optimally, using a combination of data from the system and sensors.

DeJoule generates a “nudge” when manual activity is required. Through its work with hospitals, Smart Joules’ technology claims to ensure the highest levels of air purification and filtration. This is critical, given post-Covid requirements around cooling systems being more rigorously controlled and managed.

Building on this success, Smart Joules is now launching a JouleCOOL product line which focusses exclusively on Cooling-as-a-Service for commercial and industrial customers that require large-scale, consistent cooling. This new business line also introduces a model, in which customers pay a fixed price per unit of cooling. Once proven, the company intends to expand this model to heating, steam and other industrial use cases.

In its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, India committed that 51 per cent of its energy-related GreenHouse Gas (GHG) abatement will come through energy efficiency. Cooling is one of the largest opportunities within the Energy Efficiency sector, with an average of 60 per cent of building electricity used for this purpose. India was the first country in the world to develop a National Cooling Action Plan (NCAP) and government policies related to cooling are favorable.

Bootstrapped and Angel funded to date, Smart Joules is in the process of closing out its Series A round of funding with a view to growing its business both across the hospital sector in the country and other sectors.

Energy Efficiency and Cooling is an international opportunity as well, and going forward, Smart Joules is well positioned to address markets outside the country.