Helixcore

What it does

By 2050, cooling will account for 45% of India’s peak electricity demand driven by rising AC use and heatwaves. HelixCore is a nature-inspired insert that cuts AC energy use by up to 50%, easing grid stress thus making cooling affordable and climate-friendly.

Your inspiration

Working with the Tamil Nadu government, I saw the growing strain from ACs on our grid as we are the first state to declare heat stress a disaster. India’s peak demand hit is set to exceed 273 GW by mid-2025 due to cooling demand. Yet, most ACs fail to fully evaporate or condense refrigerants due to poor heat transfer demanding more electricity. Inspired by nature’s helix design, we created HelixCore, which utilizes the complete potential of the refrigerants by increasing surface area and improving heat transfer. This increases AC efficiency by up to 50%, thus reducing the energy wastage and cooling demand of the grid.

How it works

Air conditioners cool a room by circulating a refrigerant where it evaporates to absorb heat and condenses to release it. But when heat transfer is inefficient, the refrigerant doesn’t fully evaporate or condense, wasting energy and cooling performance. Our patent-pending solution HelixCore is a spiral-shaped metal insert inspired by the DNA helix. It creates gentle micro-turbulence and breaks up smooth flow of refrigerant across a greater surface area. This improves contact with the tube walls, where heat exchange happens. As a result, HelixCore increases the rate of evaporation and condensation, leading to up to 50% better heat transfer without causing pressure loss. Made from recyclable materials like aluminum or copper HelixCore is low-cost, durable and easy to install inside existing air conditioners and refrigerators. HelixCore delivers big energy savings and reduces carbon emissions without the need for costly redesigns of existing AC systems.

Design process

We began by exploring new approaches to efficient cooling. Our initial focus was on large scale evaporative cooling systems but we found their performance was heavily dependent on local humidity making them unsuitable for wide scale use. We then investigated solid state cooling, as it has low maintenance due to lack of moving parts but the efficiency was too low for practical applications. Through this journey we recognized that vapor compression remains the most efficient and widely used method. Government departments were also seeking innovations that could improve AC efficiency without changing major components. Through deep research we found that inefficient heat transfer inside the copper tubes prevents full evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant thus wasting energy. We developed HelixCore, a patent-pending spiral shaped insert inspired by the DNA helix. Early prototypes used twisted strips and metal shavings but caused pressure loss. Through simulations and droplet experiments, we optimized the design to maximize contact surface area and induce micro-turbulence improving thermal efficiency by up to 50% without pressure penalty. Now, we have a manufacturable, scalable design undergoing AC system-level integration testing for real-world validation.

How it is different

Most solutions to improve AC efficiency require major redesigns with expensive new components or increase pressure drop inside the system affecting long term performance. Some use internal fins but these complicate manufacturing or cause energy loss through increased resistance. HelixCore is different. It fits inside existing copper tubes with no redesign needed and creates micro-turbulence to improves heat transfer without affecting flow pressure. Unlike typical solutions HelixCore achieves up to 50% higher efficiency without compromising stability. It’s retrofit compatible, cost-effective and made from recyclable metals like copper or aluminum. Our design is also optimized using machine learning to match different AC models and climate conditions making it adaptable at scale. No existing insert matches this combination of biomimicry, performance, ease of manufacturing and retrofit readiness making HelixCore a small upgrade with transformative impact.

Future plans

Our next step is to integrate HelixCore into a working AC unit for system validation in collaboration with IIT Madras Research Park. We aim to optimise the insert for scalable manufacturing and partner with AC brands and HVAC contractors with support from Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company. With my government experience we plan to pilot HelixCore in homes, schools and government buildings in heat stressed districts like Dharmapuri. Our long term goal is to make HelixCore a global standard cutting energy use, lowering emissions and making cooling affordable for all.

Awards

Global Top 30 Teams in the BeChangeMakers 2024 program, Finalist of the Vishwakarma Award 2024 for innovative cooling solutions, Established a Cooling Community with the support of United People Global (UPG) - dedicated to promoting sustainable cooling technologies.