Who would have thought a black, three inch device could create so much satisfaction! But the e-cube could save more more greenhouse gas emissions than taxes on gas guzzling cars, low energy lightbulbs and wind turbines on houses combined. Invented by British engineers, the £25 wax gadget significantly reduces the amount of energy used by fridges and freezers, which is estimated to consume about a fifth of all domestic electricity in the UK. If one was fitted to every refrigeration unit in Britain, carbon dioxide emissions would fall by more than 2 million tonnes a year. The cube mimics food and is designed to fit around a fridge's temperature sensor, which normally measures the temperature of circulating air.
Because air heats up more quickly than whatever is stored in a fridge, it has to 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 opened and closed. Trials are currently underway with major supermarkets, breweries and hotels, and one of the largest, the Riverbank Park Plaza hotel in London, fitted the device to each of their hotel's 140 major fridges and freezers. As a result, they experienced a decreased energy use of about 30%, enough to slash their annual electricity bill by £17,000.
The devices have the biggest impact in the large freezers and open chill cabinets used in the catering and supermarket industries and around 10,000 have now been sold, with tests underway at corporate giants like Asda, GreeneKing IPA and Starbucks. Energy efficiency is one of the key pillars of the Government pledge to save 60% of UK carbon emissions by 2050, which will be made legally binding by the Climate Change Bill.
