Case Study: Solving costly energy efficiency leaks
8 October 2024
At the core of Aeroseal’s values are innovation and sustainability. With that simple premise, it has taken on the massive, yet under-appreciated problem of energy efficiency in buildings. Up to 50% of energy used in buildings is for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), but nearly 50% of that energy is wasted through leaks in the ductwork and envelope.
“Buildings account for around one-third of total global energy consumption, and there’s a real issue with how much of that energy is wasted” explains Aeroseal’s CEO, Amit Gupta. “With the world reaching record temperatures and people spending something like 80%1 of their time indoors, we’re on a mission to create healthier, more sustainable buildings”.
Geographic coverage and applicability
Headquarters: Miamisburg, Ohio; Current installation coverages include North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia .
Customer benefits and value
Residential Duct Sealing
- Lower Energy Bills: Save up to 30%
- Increases efficiency, often self-paying
Commercial Duct Sealing
- Reduces energy waste, lowers HVAC fan
requirements by over 40% - Optimizes performance, extends HVAC
lifespan
Other Benefits
- Measurable Results: Real-time tracking for
code compliance - Meet Requirements: IECC, Energy Star, LEED,
Passive House, Net Zero - Versatile: For new construction or renovation
- Reduce Costs: Streamlined air-sealing process
Key Customers
Leadership:
Amit Gupta
Website:
aeroseal.com/
Contact person:
info@aeroseal.com
Estimates from the US Department of Energy suggest 25-40%2 of home energy use is attributable to leaks, affecting 90%3 of residential ductwork. With expensive energy loss, poor indoor air quality and pressures to meet building codes challenging the construction industry, something needed to change.
Aeroseal’s solution works by pressurizing building interiors (Aeroseal Envelope) or HVAC ductwork (Aeroseal Duct), then using a remote, software-based technology to release aerosolized sealant into the pressurized area. Much like air escaping from a pinhole in a balloon, the pressurized airflow carries sealant directly to leaks, where it builds and forms an airtight seal. The approach can be applied to new builds and retrofits, even sealing leaks behind walls and ceilings that would be impossible to reach manually.
The results are impressive. Real-world examples from over 300,000 global deployments demonstrate Aeroseal reducing leakage in commercial buildings by up to 90%, in some cases, saving owners upwards of $200,000 a year in utility and maintenance costs. Homeowners likewise are seeing utility bills reduced by up to 30%. The sealing process is constantly monitored in real-time to verify effectiveness, and can be carried out with little to no disruption to the structure or occupants.
Handling extreme climates
Customers dealing with some of the world’s most challenging environments are scaling up climate technologies. The central train station in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, has a massive HVAC system to control temperatures, but the ductwork was found to be leaking just shy of a hot air balloon’s worth of air every minute, at an estimated annual cost of over $100,0004.
After the local Aeroseal provider treated Central Station’s ductwork, leaks were reduced by 98.25%. Just over an hour north of Mecca at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, humidity coming through the building envelope was causing significant problems in a mechanical room. After treatment, there was a 94% reduction in air leakage. “The AeroBarrier technology is mind-blowing” , comments Biju Reghuvaran, KAUST’s Civil and Maintenance Contract Compliance Lead. “This project is a remarkable achievement for us. It’s one of the most satisfying projects I’ve worked on in my entire career as an engineer”.
While Aeroseal performs impressively in high temperature train station-scale spaces, it is
equally effective in handling cold conditions at a residential-scale farmhouse in the US Midwest. When Aeroseal was used to tackle an expensive, drafty rural house in Indiana, sealing the ductwork translated to a $678 per year reduction on the owner’s average yearly utility bill of around $2,000.
“The improvements we’re seeing are game-changing,” says Gupta. “When you scale this up to the magnitude of the problem it’s impacting, it gets really exciting for our global energy consumption and emissions picture.”
Regulations around the world are starting to catch up with the rewards that improving energy efficiency realises in buildings, with a multitude of policies at municipal, state, federal and international levels providing great tailwinds for the technology.
And giants of industry are also taking note. Building on Aeroseal’s successful deployments in Saudi Arabia, the company agreed to a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Aramco. Signed in the presence of both the Minister of Energy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the US Secretary of Energy, the MOU represents investment from Aramco in building a lower carbon business and recognition of Aeroseal’s potential to scale, while offering an accelerated route to market for Aeroseal.
As well as deploying Aeroseal in Aramco’s own building fleet and across the region in partnership with exclusive local installer Advanced World Technologies (AWT) – see CI commentary for further detail, the partnership creates opportunities to conduct research into novel applications for industrial decarbonization. One notable possibility is using Aeroseal in gas pipelines to make carrying hydrogen through existing networks much more feasible.
“We’re doing something that can legitimately make an immediate and lasting impact on carbon emissions and climate change” Gupta reflects; a sentiment echoed by CI’s Global Managing Director for Investments and Aeroseal Board Member, Marc van den Berg, who adds, “it’s thrilling to find and support companies like Aeroseal that offer innovative solutions. As it continues to prosper, so will the planet.”
CI Commentary
The Aeroseal-Aramco partnership is an important example of how licensing and franchising can work effectively in the industrial landscape. For such models to succeed, three factors need to align: the innovation needs to have a novel technical solution, it needs to have strongly defensible intellectual property applicable to both its product as well as its license to operate, and it needs to have access to low-cost capital to support growth. It also needs to have a strong local supplier partner with the required infrastructure and customer relationships in place for the franchisee to leverage – for example, reselling, distribution, supply chain services and access to financing deals to support expansion opportunities.
With the acquisition announced in late September 2024 of Advanced World Technologies (AWT), now rebranded as Aeroseal Arabia, Aeroseal has taken a significant step in its expansion into Saudi Arabia. This strategic move, supported by Climate Investment (CI) and Aramco, establishes a key foundation for Aeroseal’s growth in the region. Marc van den Berg, Global Managing Director of Investments at CI, commented: “The AWT acquisition serves as a model for other portfolio companies looking to enter the MENA market. We see potential for regional impact through our portfolio, for example, 75F’s smart cooling systems, Turntide’s energy-efficient motors, and Gradient Comfort’s advanced, frictionless heat pumps and AC units. The establishment of Aeroseal Arabia underscores how a strategic go-to-market approach can be replicated by other climate tech innovators in our portfolio.”
This acquisition marks a major milestone in advancing global energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Partnering with AWT’s founder Fadi Shora, Aeroseal is enhancing its presence in Saudi Arabia and aligning with the Kingdom’s ambitious sustainability goals. As part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative, the country aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. Decarbonizing its building stock is a crucial part of this effort, and Aeroseal’s technology provides a proven, cost-effective solution for delivering net-zero-ready buildings.”
“It’s thrilling to find and support companies like Aeroseal that offer innovative solutions. As it continues to prosper, so will the planet.”
Marc van den Berg, CI Global Managing Director for Investments and Aeroseal Board Member
1https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412023004002.
2https://why.aeroseal.com/resources/air-seal-guide.pdf
3https://why.aeroseal.com/resources/air-seal-guide.pdf
4Extrapolated from Aeroseal Mecca CS case study “AWT reduced leakage by 98.2%. This translates into an annual energy savings of up to 424,987 SAR ($113,325 USD) based on Aeroseal estimates”
