Smartcool Gets a Second Nod from Lawrence Roulston

Smartcool Systems Inc.
SSC: TSX-V
Basic Shares 44.3 million
Fully Diluted 50.7 million

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In an exclusive interview in The Energy Report, Smartcool Systems was again mentioned by Lawrence Roulston in a follow-up to a November 25, 2009 interview with the Green Tech Opportunities editor and publisher.

Here is just a small portion of the interview called Lawrence Roulston: An Answer is Blowin’ in the Wind, which can be found at The Energy Report website.

The Energy Report: An option to alternative energy that you’ve written about in your GreenTech Opportunities newsletters is conservation. I recall you saying that few people seem to realize that reducing energy consumption is vastly cheaper than producing more of it. There must be an unbelievable number of opportunities to invest in companies that focus on conservation technologies that we don’t really hear about because we’re concentrating so hard on alternative energy production.

Lawrence Roulston: Sure. A very, very significant point is that at one level, the cost of conservation is zero if you think about just turning off light switches. The next level involves reducing consumption by retrofitting systems with various products that reduce consumption. That’s where you’ll find some investment potential on the conservation side.

For example, Smartcool Systems Inc. (TSX.V:SSC) has a device that goes into the circuit of an air conditioning or refrigeration unit and it can save 10% or more of the electricity cost without having any measurable impact on the performance of the unit. They talk about a payback period of one to two years on the cost of buying and installing this device.

Smartcool spent a couple of years in development and beta testing, and another year or so setting up a worldwide marketing effort, a distribution channel. It’s not the sort of thing you put on the shelves and people buy it. It needs a professional installer, so they’re working with electrical contractors and electrical parts distribution organizations. What’s happening is that a big chain will install it in a few locations to see if it really works. Recently, those big chains have been coming back to roll it out through the whole organization. So they’re just on the beginning of a big ramp-up in revenues.

The Energy Report: So is Smartcool meant for commercial rather than residential use?

Lawrence Roulston: Yes. It’s designed for commercial, industrial, retail and cold storage warehouses, for example. When I learned about this and I was chatting with the president of the company, I asked him if I could buy one and put it on my refrigerator at home, but he pointed out that it probably wouldn’t be cost effective. But in a commercial application, especially one with a number of air conditioning and/or refrigeration units, it becomes very cost effective.

Over time add-on products such as Smartcool’s will be integrated into the design and manufacture of the host units, but in the meantime, it’s an exciting area for us to focus on.

Click here to read The Howard Group’s commentary on Lawrence Roulston’s November 25th interview.