Refrigerator idea

[Mistel]

I have always thought that a fridge is so poorly designed. You open the door and the cool air just falls out of the fridge. My idea is that your fridge should be like a chest freezer, where the door opens up, on the top. That way the cool air does not fall out when you open the door.
There are many other things you could do, some chris mentioned, insulate it better, move the coil off the back.
How about this, have the coil outside, like a house air conditioner, so places with cold winters would be able to take advantage of the cold outside air. This could be as simple as building something like a door that the back of the fridge could fit in.

Peter

[cgoodwin]

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/ca...3_c3_China.pdf

[cgoodwin]

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/...2/text/fri.htm

[cgoodwin]

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/...0/building.htm



Building Energy Use and
Carbon Management

If we build one, they will buy it. That's the dream of Jeff Christian, director of the Buildings Technology Center (BTC) User Facility at ORNL. BTC has been involved in developing, evaluating, and promoting household appliances and heating and air-conditioning equipment that are far more energy efficient than what Americans are using today. If most Americans replace their washing machines, refrigerators, water heaters, and air conditioners with new, highly efficient ones by 2010, they will save energy and money in the long run. Most important, from a carbon management point of view, they will reduce power plant emissions of carbon to the air by almost 95 million metric tons per year (MMT/yr). That's the amount of carbon emitted annually by nearly 20 million people (5 MMT/yr per person) or by 56 1000-megawatt coal-fired power plants.

"Buildings and their appliances use 36% of the nation's energy," Christian says. "Buildings are also responsible for 36% of U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide produced by human activities. We have an opportunity to cut our energy consumption and carbon emissions significantly through use of energy-efficient technologies."

One way to help clean up our carbon emissions act is to buy and use new water-saving, tumble-action clothes washers that incorporate a "horizontal-axis" design rather than the conventional vertical agitator. Because this design requires less water and, thus, has less water to heat, it saves energy. In addition, its improved spin cycle cuts down time in the dryer, further reducing energy use.

In 1997, the Department of Energy and Maytag Corporation, the efficient machine's manufacturer, selected 100 residents of Bern, Kansas (population: 200), to test the new washer. Bern has an unreliable supply of well water when the weather is dry.



John Tomlinson and his BTC colleagues in ORNL's Energy Division made measurements that confirmed a reduction in water and energy use when the 100 residents switched from old washers to the new, high-efficiency washers. The ORNL researchers found that the residents used 56% less energy and 38% less water, saving the town of Bern 640,000 gallons annually.

"If most U.S. households change over to high-efficiency clothes washers by 2010," Christian says. "U.S. carbon emissions will be reduced by 28 million metric tons of carbon per year."

In collaboration with Whirlpool, General Electric, Frigidaire, Amana, and Maytag through cooperative research and development agreements, ORNL researchers led by Ed Vineyard have been designing the next generation of popular refrigerator models, to cut their energy use in half. By adding insulation and using more efficient motors and compressors, the ORNL-industry partnership has designed a 20-cubic-foot refrigerator that operates on only 0.93 kilowatt hours per day, using 53% less energy than the maximum allowed by new DOE standards.



"If Americans replaced their aging refrigerators with these new, efficient ones by 2010," Christian says, "they would use 58% less energy to chill their foods and beverages and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 48 million metric tons per year."

In collaboration with Enviromaster International, Inc., Tomlinson and his ORNL colleagues have developed a drop-in residential heat pump water heater. This highly reliable device is more energy efficient than the conventional water heater, which uses resistive heating. The new water heater, which will soon be on the market, can be installed by a plumber at a low cost.



"If half of American households replace their old water heaters with heat pump water heaters by 2010," Christian says, "the energy used nationwide for home water heating will be reduced by 0.6 quad and the amount of carbon emitted will be decreased by 9 million metric tons per year."



Additional energy savings can be made by replacing home air conditioners with a generator-absorber heat exchanger (GAX) chiller (developed by private industry under the guidance of ORNL researchers) and by insulating and sealing leaks in heating and air-conditioning ducts to eliminate energy losses. The total reduction in carbon emissions by 2010 if most households make these changes will be 95 MMT/yr.

It is hoped that Americans will buy into new energy-saving and money-saving technologies that will reduce carbon emissions from buildings.

[cgoodwin]

http://www.sunfrost.com/refrigerators_main.html

Sun Frost refrigerators and freezers are so outstandingly energy-efficient, powering a home with solar power or other low output energy sources is both feasible and affordable. All models are available in 12 or 24 volt DC, or 110 or 220 volt AC. Even in a home using conventional utility power, energy consumption for refrigeration is typically cut by a factor of five! (ARTICLE)

Sun Frost participates in the U.S. government ENERGY STAR® program, and several of our models bear the ENERGY STAR label. Visit the ENERGY STAR web site at http://www.energystar.gov.

In addition to unrivaled energy efficiency, Sun Frost offers amenities not found in conventional refrigerators, such as high humidity, food-saving storage, ultra-quiet operation and an easy-to-clean interior.

Every Sun Frost is custom crafted - you choose the hinge side and finish. Your Sun Frost can be finished with a number of laminate or wood finishes. We are now also offering a stainless steel option. Ask us!

Please use the links below to find out more about Sun Frost refrigerators.

Features

Models

Specifications

Base Cabinets

Customization

Download Sun Frost refrigerator brochure as a PDF file (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

[als]

Sailboats typically have thick insulation, two evaporators, and a chest type arrangement. The Sunfrost looks like a great improvement over conventional refrigerators. The Stabler washing machine seems like a great replacement unit when mine goes south. The CFL are a great idea. I use them everywhere I can especially the hard to reach places.

TNX,

Als