Smartcool Products - Do they really work?

[curiousgeorge]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and know very little about refrigeration. I have clearly come to the right place to learn from others- this is a great forum! I have been reading over various posts trying to get a better understanding of suction pressure and temperature in an attempt to understand if products made by Smartcool actually work. (Smartcool.net) So far, I'm not sure.

To give you an idea who I am, the reason I am trying to figure this out is because I am an investor who is trying to determine if shares in SmartCool would be a good investment.

Smartcool claims to have invented a product that manages suction pressure in refrigeration and a/c units to lower electricity usage. They have trials listed in their news releases that are reducing energy consumption by 17%. Now, the company has been around since the late '90s, so why do they have dismal revenues? Their website says they include McDonalds, Apple and other big names on their client list. But, why don't we hear more about their technology??

From their website: "By controlling the suction temperature or pressure over a narrow band, it is possible to maximize the compressor performance, increase cooling capacity by as much as 30% and achieving compressor optimization." WITH NO impact on temperatures.

I would really appreciate any feedback anyone on this forum has.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

[Brian_UK]

As you say, been around for a long time but almost unheard of.

May be snake oil, may be not.

If you want investment advice though, I would suggest that you contact your broker.

Your post has the air of a free advert about it so please contain your enthusiasm when replying.

[curiousgeorge]

I apologize for the impression of an advert. I will adjust the post so I do not offend anyone.

[mad fridgie]

Hi and welcome.
There are now many products and methods that attempt to optimise refrigeration control, yes in the old days control was very course which lead to in-efficiency, but over many years equipment in general and controls have improved dramatically, reducing the possible savings these types of products are able to achieve.
I am not saying they do not work, they are likely to have some effect, but I would sumise not as great as what is indicated.
If you think, that many of these products are sold (or could be) by refrigeration companies, we need to have proof of the tangable or guaranteed savings that we can pass on to the end user. It is difficult to promote, could be, maybe, upto.
I can also say (with experience) that the best engineers are not normally the best marketers. This where most of these innovations fall down.
I would love to take your money as I have products that can out perform these types of products, but if you do have the expertise to bring to the market, then there would be a chance of loosing your cash.

[Brian_UK]

I apologize for the impression of an advert. I will adjust the post so I do not offend anyone.

That's OK, just testing.

[curiousgeorge]

Hi mad fridge.
I really appreciate your feedback. It makes sense to me that the savings that could be squeezed out of these products have already occurred. That is why I am doubtful at this company's claims. I thought it was worth throwing out there though. Maybe someone else will shed some light on these products...

[curiousgeorge]

lol, okay good, I can't figure out how to adjust my original post!

[mad fridgie]

On a technical note, on a refrig system, if you increase you suction pressure (SST) by 1C you get on average a 2.5% increase in refrigeration duty, so to increase duty by 30% you would need to raise the SST by over 10C, as most pieces of refrigeration evaps are design with a TD of 6-8C you can not achieve the 30% increase

[curiousgeorge]

That is really helpful Mad Fridge. Thanks.

[Segei]

I found that companies like that won't give you refrigeration numbers(suction, discharge presssure..)(before and after) to verify mentioned energy savings. They will give you a lot of percentages of energy savings, but never compare operation before and after. They won't tell you how they've got 20% or 30% energy savings.

[cadillackid]

but just saying you get an increase in duty does not mean thats instantly free energy....

it may make the head pressure go up slightly due to the capacity of the condenser for those conditions which would cause somewhat increase in electrical usage....

General motors used to use Suction pressure control in their older automobiles... the Old Cadillacs I have owned from the early 70's had the darndest cold air conditioners of any cars I have ever owned.... however it was at a price... they ran higher head pressures esp at idle and therefore ran more Horse power to run the compressor.... hard to tell on a car whether there was a net savings or not as I dont have the precision equipment needed to measure such things....

and this product may be real to some extent I just dont think it is real to the extent they market it
-Christopher