Everyone knows by now that the fridge and freezer are one of the biggest energy guzzlers in our homes. As we see more and more evidence of global warming, we also see evidence of innovative people trying to make a difference. When it comes to keeping our foods cold, there are some pretty cool things coming our way.
Going Underground
Before the refrigerator, the ground itself was used to store food. People are starting to rediscover underground food storage, and new solutions are emerging.
Floris Schoonderbeek, an art director and designer in the Netherlands, noticed that more homeowners and chefs were growing their own fruits and vegetables. He quickly realized that many of them would require a place to store that produce. And so was born the Groundfridge. Portable and waterproof, the organically shaped cellar doesn’t require any building permits, just thorough knowledge about the ground where it’s to be installed.
The Groundfridge is totally off-line, yet provides as much storage as 20 traditional fridges, maintaining a temperature of 45 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit year-round.
Schoonderbeek created two models: One has a solar-panel door, which produces a small amount of electricity to offset summer temperatures. The other is linked to the natural supply of underground water (which is a steady 50 degrees Fahrenheit) to constantly cool the interior.
Shock Freezer
If you have no earth to dig into, innovative appliances could be the way to go. The shock freezer, or blast chiller, is a relative of the refrigerator and freezer but uses a much wider range of temperatures with high precision.
While a traditional freezer takes up to 12 hours to freeze food, this appliance deep-freezes cooked foods or chills fresh food in less than half an hour. The food gains 70 percent of additional shelf life and maintains a high quality. Once flash frozen, the food can then be stored in a traditional freezer.
The shock freezer also can be used to proof bread dough, make homemade yogurt and chill wine quickly. It uses R290 gas, a refrigerant-grade propane with low environmental impact. The gas is non-toxic, with zero ODP (ozone depletion potential) and a very low global warming potential (GWP), of 3.8. (A traditional refrigerator typically has a GWP of about 10.)
The technology has been used in commercial settings such as restaurants and hotels for years, but it’s now available for home use. The main challenge with the increasingly popular shock freezer has been making it a size that will fit in a normal kitchen, much like a microwave.
Rethinking the Fridge
A refrigerator’s cold is typically generated by a compression system, using an ozone-unfriendly refrigerant that changes from a liquid to a gaseous state. It absorbs the food’s heat and cools down the airtight appliance. But now, alternatives emerging in Europe promise to keep our fridges frosty while also being kind to the environment.
Solar Cold
The solar fridge (and freezer) is a cool option for anyone wanting to live green. Being produced in France by a company called Freecold, this appliance uses solar energy to directly supply the compressor without a battery or voltage regulator. As soon as the sun appears, even if it’s for a few short minutes, the system produces cold, giving it complete independence for three days.
A domestic version is still under development, but the FrigoMobile, a kind of cart with a cold unit, solar light and solar mobile charger, already exists. It’s prefect for street vendors, isolated houses and people with nomadic lifestyles.
Magnetic Cold
Magnetic cold is completely green, without gas, and is a credible alternative to refrigerants used today that contribute to global warming. Also, magnetic cold is much less energy-consuming. It could reduce a fridge’s electric consumption by half.
This system works in a magnetic field under control, using cycles of magnetization and demagnetization with specific alloys. To put it simply, these alloys are repeatedly submitted to the magnets’ action: They get warm and then cool down. The heat is removed by ventilation. The cold generated (around 48 degrees Fahrenheit) then circulates in the fridge.
A first test phase will be conducted this year in the professional market. The technology is expected to be ready for domestic use in 2020.
Do you have any novel ways of chilling or storing your food? Please share in the comments, I’d love to hear them!
