# Unlocking hyper-efficient cooling

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2022-03-03
- Length: 49m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling

## Summary

Jessy Rivest, vice president and general manager of the Cleantech program at Xerox PARC, explains why air conditioning accounts for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions and how demand is projected to triple by 2050. She details the inefficiency of current systems that overcool air to manage humidity before reheating it, and discusses emerging solutions like desiccants, solid-state heat pumps, and ice-based thermal storage. Rivest also analyzes the barriers to adoption, including upfront capital costs, the split-incentive problem in commercial leasing, and the need for new business models like cooling-as-a-service.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling#t=7) Introduction: The Climate Impact of Cooling
- [7:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling#t=479) Emissions Breakdown: Refrigerants and Electricity
- [10:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling#t=628) Humidity Management and Desiccants
- [16:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling#t=1002) Heat Pumps and Ice Storage
- [22:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling#t=1379) Barriers to Adoption: Upfront Costs and Leasing
- [27:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling#t=1658) Regulation, Standards, and Cooling-as-a-Service
- [43:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling#t=2602) Ventilation, Air Quality, and Xerox PARC

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Xerox PARC (company)
- Global Cooling Prize (other)
- EnergyHub (company)
- Bloom Energy (company)
- Sun Run (company)
- SEER (other)
- ASHRAE (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Tackling Environmental Issues Through Revolutionary Air Conditioning Technology with Daniel Betts, CEO & Founder of Blue Frontier](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-08-04-tackling-environmental-issues-through-revolutionary-air-conditioning-technology) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Transforming Cooling Systems for Energy Efficiency and Global Impact with Ross Bonner](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-01-30-transforming-cooling-systems-for-energy-efficiency-and-global-impact-with-ross-b) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Using Efficient Heat Pumps to Cut CO2 Emissions with Paul Lambert, Founder and CEO of Quilt](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-08-31-using-efficient-heat-pumps-to-cut-co2-emissions-with-paul-lambert-founder-and-ce) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Using IoT Solutions to Optimize HVAC Costs: A Discussion with Rahul Subramany, Co-Founder of Monaire](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2024-02-15-using-iot-solutions-to-optimize-hvac-costs-a-discussion-with-rahul-subramany-co) (Over the Air)
- [Using Cooling Towers to Scale Atmospheric CO2 Removal with Silvain Toromanoff, Co-Founder and CTO of NeoCarbon](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-06-08-using-cooling-towers-to-scale-atmospheric-co2-removal-with-silvain-toromanoff-co) (Hardware to Save a Planet)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-03-03-unlocking-hyper-efficient-cooling. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.