The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance has selected cooling as a service (CaaS) as one of the top six green investment ideas for 2019. CaaS involves end-users paying for the cooling they receive, rather than the physical product or infrastructure that delivers it. A technology provider installs and maintains the cooling equipment and pays the electricity charges; he recovers costs through periodic payments made by the customer. These payments are based on the cooling service delivered – for example, dollars per tonnes of refrigeration, or cubic metres of cooled air – and are calculated on actual usage. The payment is not dependent on the savings but agreed in advance.
CaaS disrupts the standard business model, which relies on the manufacture, sale, use, and disposal of equipment. Manufacturers are driven to produce and sell more units rather than focus on minimising the use of their products. At the same time, owners and users of HVAC&R equipment typically do not have the expertise, awareness or resources to ensure their equipment is running as efficiently as possible. By moving this responsibility to a highly focused service provider, systems could be designed, installed and maintained to be more efficient.

(Source: HVAC&R News – AIRAH)