£25 fridge gadget that could slash greenhouse emissions

[jpak]

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2036183,00.html

£25 fridge gadget that could slash greenhouse emissions

It is made of wax, is barely three inches across and comes in any colour you like, as long as it's black. And it could save more greenhouse gas emissions than taxes on gas guzzling cars, low energy light bulbs and wind turbines on houses combined. It is the e-cube, and it is coming soon to a fridge near you.

Invented by British engineers, the £25 gadget significantly reduces the amount of energy used by fridges and freezers, which are estimated to consume about a fifth of all domestic electricity in the UK. If one was fitted to each of the 87 million refrigeration units in Britain, carbon dioxide emissions would fall by more than 2 million tonnes a year.

The patented cube mimics food and is designed to fit around a fridge's temperature sensor, which usually measures the temperature of the circulating air.

Because air heats up much more quickly than yoghurt, milk or whatever else is stored inside, this makes the fridge work harder than necessary. With the cube fitted, the fridge responds only to the temperature of the food, which means it clicks on and off less often as the door is open and closed.

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[phantom power]

1. that's pretty clever. You could probably even make one at home.

[jpak]

4. Back in the early '90's I bought a refrigerator "Energy Buster" from Real Goods

It was designed to monitor the load demand of the compressor and provide the precise amount of juice required to meet that demand.

Worked like a charm on old '70's and '80's vintage energy hog fridges.

Still got it too...

[whistle]

2. Is that a good thing letting refrigerated food vary in temperature

...I would think the undesirable result of this device would be greater amounts of spoiled food, soured milk and illness due to food poisoning.

[MADem]

3. VERY jazzy, this!!!!!

http://www.ecubedistribution.com/

[silverweb]

5. Simple principle.

The old-fashioned version is what I was taught years ago about putting full water bottles in the refrig/freezer to take up any empty air space.

A fully packed unit maintains a more even temperature and uses less electricity than an empty unit.

This is a clever application of that principle, but the water bottles are still cheaper. :D

[Bjornsdotter]

6. That's what I was taught too

....a full frig used less energy. That's my excuse for keeping it packed....:rofl:

Cheers

[silverweb]

8. LOL

Keeping it packed means fewer and more efficient shopping trips, too!

:D

[poopfuel]

7. anyone read the quote in the article?

"Guy Lamstaes, co-inventor of the device, said heightened concern about climate change had made companies more interested in saving energy.

"We tried to market these for years but nobody was interested.""

LMAO....not