Engineers Find Ways To Reduce Open Grocery Refrigerators' Energy Loss

Open refrigerated display cases holding eggs, cheese, drinks and more are a favorite of supermarket chains. Despite the easy access they offer customers, the inefficient energy-guzzlers cost retailers a huge amount of money.

Engineers at the University of Washington in Seattle and Kettering University in Flint, Mich. have developed an all-new way of designing this type of refrigerated case. Mazyar Amin and his team created a method to make these cases between 10-15 percent more energy efficient, by analyzing the physics of how warm air sneaks in. In most open refrigerators, an invisible curtain of cold air blows from the top of the case to ducts at the bottom, deflecting incoming warm air. These air curtains are not impermeable: Up to 80 percent of the devices' energy consumption goes to cooling down warm air that leaks in.

The research team identified six major design variables, such as the dimensions of the case, the turbulence of the air curtains and the speed of blowing air. They said that although these refrigerators come in countless different styles and designs, improved design can dramatically reduce the amount of warm air that seeps in.

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