What’s Going On Here?
Ever noticed that pretty much all supermarket fridges and freezers are open? Well a report this week, supported by DEFRA, revealed they consume up to 1% of the UK’s total energy consumption – freezing mad!
What Does This Mean?
Campaigners are urging UK supermarkets to change standard proto-cold and close supermarket fridges, as the true energy use of open-door-fridges is unearthed. Favoured by supermarkets for their convenience, as shoppers can pick up their goods more easily, they have come under fire from campaigners and MPs as a ‘massive waste of energy and money.’ We tend to agree with them!
Whilst the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) imposes minimum energy performance standards on appliances, known as Ecodesign regulations, this does not require fridge doors to be implemented.
Why Should We Care?
Despite many retailers fitting their fridges with energy-saving technology, it is estimated that simply fitting doors to fridges and freezers in all UK supermarkets would reduce their overall energy consumption by as much as 25%. Other independent research estimates it could save as much energy as that of the domestic population of Poland!
In light of the climate crisis, such a significant waste of energy to simply avoid opening the fridge door at your local supermarket seems crazy to us! I mean, you wouldn’t leave the fridge door at home open would you?
Be Curious!
In France, supermarkets have voluntarily agreed to put doors on 75% of their fridges by 2020! Why not sign this petition to ‘Ban energy-wasting open fridges and freezers in all retail outlets’ across the UK.
