Spaceship tech slashes energy usage of existing AC systems by 50%
Darren Quick

As we experience temperature extremes more often as a result of climate change, it predictably leads to an uptick in the use of air conditioning systems. This of course results in higher energy use, which, if it’s not coming from renewable sources, means more greenhouse gas emissions, and the vicious cycle continues.

Although today’s AC units are more efficient than ever, they’re still a major drain on electrical grids, and updating to newer, more efficient units can be expensive – particularly for owners of large commercial systems. Helix Earth Technologies is looking to address this problem by repurposing a technology originally developed to filter air on spacecraft, which was developed by company CEO Rawand Rasheed and his team when he was at NASA.

The technology in question is called Helix Micra and is a filtration system that consists of the company’s proprietary filters and liquid desiccants. Rasheed claims the Helix Micra system is six to eight times more efficient than other commercially available dehumidification systems, is much smaller than current systems, and the filters are easy to manufacture using 3D printing, which can be done using recycled materials.

Most importantly, though, is the fact the system can be retrofitted to existing commercial HVAC systems and slash energy usage by 50% or more. It does this by dehumidifying the air – a necessary step in the cooling process – much more efficiently than current tech.

The Helix Micra filters were developed to, with no moving parts, capture micrometer-sized droplets of water sprayed on spacecraft to fight fires. This capability also makes the technology ideal for pre-dehumidifying the air supplied to an existing AC rooftop unit, a task that the company says can account for up to 80% of an AC’s energy usage in humid environments.

This means the existing AC unit doesn’t need to be replaced and the company says a Helix Micra unit can be installed in a matter of hours by a single technician. The add-on unit is a tenth the size of the AC it is connected to and maintenance is claimed to be simpler than for the AC unit itself, with services able to be conducted on the same schedule as regular AC maintenance.

Helix Earth Technologies has been awarded multiple grants and funding from a verity of sources, including the DOE and NASA, and was recently announced as a finalist in the 2024 Urban Future Prize Competition.

Because units need to be customized for different systems, specific pricing details aren’t available, but the company website says the unit will pay for itself in three years, and last 15 to 20 years. The company will initially focus on the Texas market before hopefully expanding to the wider US and then global markets. If you run a commercial building and are interested, you can join the wait list on the company’s website.

Rasheed explains the technology in the video below.

Source: Helix Earth Technologies

Darren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continues as Managing Editor of New Atlas.

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