April 2, 2007

Richard Travers, inventor and engineer who loves to "tinker" things in his garage, came to MSG in the spring of 2005 and pitched his Freeaire system that promised substantial energy savings for any commercial establishment using refrigerated coolers. He had a great product and an incredibly simple system that worked. Best of all, it delivered all of the energy savings it promised. He'd sold a few units, each of which he then fabricated and installed himself.

The concept had solid business potential, but was sorely in need of a strategy around identifying customers and building an operational plan before it could scale beyond a profitable but limited lifestyle business that Richard ran literally out of his garage in Warren, VT.

The MSG team, after identifying and then meeting with their owners, recommended targeting VT-based chains of convenience stores, like Champlain Farms, in place of the stand-alone shops Richard had been trying to sell systems to. The rationale was simple. Both customers required about the same sales effort, but succeeding with a chain returned mutliple units instead of one.

Selling to large commercial operations, like Otter Creek Brewing in Middlebury and Magic Hat Brewing Co. in Burlington rounded out the marketing strategy.

Armed with several custom fabricators that the MSG team and Richard identified, the term ended and the final engagement report was delivered. That was May 2005. Below is the featured article on Richard and Freeaire that appeared as the lead piece in the Business Monday section of the Burlington Free Press' April 2 edition. Seems that Richard took the recommendations to heart and is well beyond that garage today.

Cool idea leads to energy savings

By Leslie Wright
Free Press Staff Writer

April 2, 2007
If Richard Travers told you he sells ice boxes in the Arctic, you might suspect he also has a bridge for sale in Brooklyn.

He doesn't have a bridge, but he does sell refrigeration to the Inuit.

The Warren inventor sells cooling systems that use cold outside air to run refrigerators and, in the Arctic, freezers. His company is Freeaire Refrigeration.

He's sold close to 300 systems in New England and Canada. Magic Hat Brewing Co. in South Burlington recently installed one in its beer cooler. Champlain Farms, the local convenience store chain, has purchased Freeaire refrigeration for all 35 of its stores.

Recently, Travers sold them to a dozen Inuit villages in Canada.

"Each village is so far from any kind of grid they have to have their own generator in town," Travers said referring to the electric grid that delivers power.

Travers estimated the Freeaire systems are saving each village $10,000 a year in fuel expenses. Magic Hat estimates savings at $4,000 to $6,000 a year, making the investment an easy decision, said Alan Newman, Magic Hat owner.

"The concept is simple. It's brilliant. 'Duh. It's cold outside, let's let the air in,' " Newman said.
Environmental mission

Saving energy is a mission Travers has been on since the early 1970s, when he moved to Warren as one of the original members of Prickly Mountain, a counterculture community dedicated to the environmental movement.

Travers was an original resident of Dimetrodon, a wood-heated, solar-powered, home-made building that housed several homes. Dimetrodon was named after a prehistoric creature with a sail-like fin on its back that was believed to act like a solar heater for its blood.

Before Travers got into refrigeration, he designed and built wood stoves. The Elm -- no longer made but still around -- was his design, manufactured by his company Vermont Iron Works, a precursor to Vermont Castings.

The idea for cold-air refrigeration came about one day in the late '70s when Travers was sitting around the dining room table.

"We had this old restaurant refrigerator," Travers recalled. "It made so much noise you couldn't talk next to it. It was 20 (degrees) below at the time. What if we brought some cold air into the fridge?"

So, he drilled holes for fans to circulate cold air.

"It seemed to work in a crude sort of way," Travers said. "Then, we did one for The Warren Store."

Travers was in business.
Energy savings

The system is fairly simple, Travers, lanky and clad in blue jeans with a Warholesque shock of white hair, said the system is fairly simple, as he stood in a convenience store cooler. TraversHe pointed to a hole about the diameter of a wood-stove pipe in the cooler's ceiling. Cold air was streaming in. A box inside the cooler noted that it was 38 degrees inside and 30 degrees outside, so cold air from outside was cooling the soda and beer in the cooler.

The compressor that runs the noisy evaporator fans inside the cooler was idle.

"The outside air always gets first crack at cooling the space," Travers explained.

Travers has also tackled another energy waster found in convenience store coolers -- door heaters. In warm weather, cooler doors fog up and drip with condensation. Many coolers, especially older ones, have heated doors to prevent fogging. Those heaters typically run all the time, using energy and heating the air that the cooler is trying to chill.

That problem was solved by installing a humidity sensor in the doors. When the humidity is high enough, the sensor tells the door to heat. The heat is on only when necessary.

The system cuts energy costs by about 25 percent year 'round, Travers said.

Freeaire systems are an add-on to existing refrigeration systems and the cost typically ranges from $5,000 to $8,000. Cost depends on the size of the cooler. Some refrigeration manufacturers balk at the add-on and won't warranty their systems if a Freeaire has been installed. City Market in Burlington decided against a Freeaire because of warranty issues, Travers said.

The systems qualify for energy rebates from Efficiency Vermont, the state's energy conservation utility, that are typically about $2,000.

Champlain Farms got rebates on every system installed in 35 convenience stores, said President David Simendinger, president. SimendingerHe found that in addition to saving on their electric bill, the system saves time and money in maintenance costs. While the cooling systems aren't running in the winter, they don't need maintenance, Simendinger said.

Magic Hat recently installed a system in a 2,500-square-foot beer cooler. Magic Hat received a $4,000 rebate from Efficiency Vermont, making the company's cost $8,000. Energy savings should pay for the system in about 18 months, said Steve Hood, general manager.

Hood estimates the brewery will save $4,000 to $6,000 a year in electricity costs, for a company that typically sees an electric bill of $10,000 a month. The system is simple and it works, Hood said.

"It's a great concept," Hood said.

View the story and photos at Cool idea leads to energy savings