Chill out

With climate change high on the agenda, what are companies doing to make energy efficient products without the use of greenhouse gases? Jane Turner checks out the coolest of the coolers.

Since we last looked at fridges early in 2001, the bar has been raised on energy use and use of coolant gases. Consumers can now make significant contributions to reducing environmental impact by considering both these factors when buying a new fridge.

The best selling brands of fridges and freezers continue to be the Electrolux brands (Electrolux, AEG and Zanussi) and the Hotpoint brand. A new company on the scene since our last report is the Haier Group from China which makes a range of electrical appliances. We have recommended the brand as a Best Buy even though the company is from a country on our list of oppressive regimes because so many of its fridges are in the A+ class of energy consumption.

Most of the companies in the report specialise in white goods but there are one or two notable exceptions. The Wallenberg family, which controls Electrolux, has fingers in dam building, military and nuclear pies, as does the US company General Electric which part owns Hotpoint and Creda, and Bosch and Siemens who have a joint venture on household appliances. The Turkish company Koc Holding, which owns the budget Beko brand, is involved in coal mining and making cars. Most of the products on sale in the UK are manufactured either here or in Europe, though the Beko brand is made in Turkey.

Particularly of note in this report is the poor quality of environmental reporting among fridge manufacturers. Most of the brands did not achieve better than our lowest rating, except for Electrolux and Robert Bosch who both got a middle rating. The failure to set publicly accountable future targets for environmental improvement is of particular concern in a sector where the impact of reduction is high.

ENERGY USE
After central heating, fridges and freezers are the biggest domestic users of energy, because they're on all the time. So when you're ready to replace one, it is worth looking for A+ or A++ rated ones, which are the most energy-efficient and cheapest to run.

EU ENERGY LABEL
Since January 1995, all fridges and freezers sold in the EC have had to bear an energy label at point of sale. The labels display a machine's energy efficiency on a seven-point A to G scale. From September 1999, no fridge or freezer rated below a D was allowed on the EC market.

Since summer 2003, A+ and A++ energy use ratings have been in use on EU energy labels for fridges and freezers to distinguish between the increasing numbers of A-rated models. Appliances with these ratings save from 25% up to more than 45% of the energy consumed by A rated models.The label must also display the actual energy the appliance uses, which is shown in kilowatt hours (kWh) per year. This figure is useful for comparing, for example, two A+ rated fridges. If they are different sizes they will use different amounts of energy.

Together with minimum efficiency standards, energy labelling is a key part in the European Commission's "market transformation strategy" to shift appliances towards more efficient technologies and reduce CO2 emissions.(1) It would seem that the energy label is working well. In 2000, new fridges consumed 27% less electricity than in 1990.4 Overall, domestic fridges and freezers' electricity consumption accounts for some 62 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year: about 2% of the European Union's total greenhouse gas emissions.(2)

Governments around the world are trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and industrialised countries committed themselves at the December 1997 Kyoto conference to reduce the emissions of the major greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to their 1990 level, before 2010. The European Union has set a global target of -8%. If Energy+ appliances are widely used, enormous amounts of energy and money can be saved, and the associated CO2 emissions can be further reduced.(2)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY RECOMMENDED
The Energy Efficiency Recommended logo means that a fridge or freezer is A+ or A++ rated on the EU energy label. The scheme is run by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) which conducts independent tests to check that the EU energy label is correct.

The EST claims that if every household in the UK replaced their old fridge freezer with an Energy Efficiency Recommended one, electricity equivalent to the output of two typical power stations would be saved each year.

The EST website has a database of products entitled to bear the logo. It lists 79 refrigeration models, 41 of which do not appear on the Energy+ list.

ENERGY+
Energy+ is a European Commission project to promote A+ and A++ appliances. It now has a list of 866 A+ and A++ models on its database from 21 participating manufacturers that are available throughout Europe.

Unfortunately, only 74 of these models are available in the UK. A report in 1998 revealed that the average efficiency of cold appliances sold in the UK is the worst out of nine European countries studied.(1) Little seems to have changed since then.

EU ECOLABEL
Appliance manufacturers have largely ignored the EU ecolabel, perhaps because many already bear the EU energy label. A handful of eco-labelled products "are available in or coming to UK shops", according to the Environment Department's website including a work top height fridge-freezer produced in South Korea by LG, the LG Fridge-Freezer GR-171 which is HFC free.

Now into its fourteenth year, the 'flower' logo of the EU eco-labelling scheme remains virtually unknown to UK consumers.(3) This is a shame since the Ecolabel would seem to be more useful to an ethical consumer than the energy label because the Ecolabel requires models to be HFC free and looks at their environmental impact in production, use and disposal.

Key criteria

- The appliance must have an energy efficiency class of A+ or A++
- The refrigerants in the refrigerating circuit and foaming agents used must be HFC free.
- The availability of compatible replacement parts and service shall be guaranteed for 12 years from the time that production ceases.
- The manufacturer shall offer free of charge, the take-back for recycling of the appliance and of components being replaced
- The manufacturer shall take into account the disassembly of the appliance and provide a disassembly report.
- Plastic parts heavier than 50 grams shall have a permanent marking identifying the material
- Plastic parts shall not contain PBB or PBDE flame retardants.
- Airborne noise from the appliance, counted as sound power, shall not exceed 40 dB(A)

CHEAP A-RATED FRIDGES FOR BENEFIT CLAIMANTS
Fridgesavers is a scheme to provide low cost new fridges and freezers for low income households. It is currently being run in some areas by Powergen in association with Currys. In other areas, the scheme is available through npower.

Applicants must have a damaged and/or faulty (and therefore inefficient) appliance and be in receipt of at least one qualifying benefit such as working tax credit or housing benefit. Fridgesavers is a like for like scheme so people with a fridge cannot apply for a fridge freezer and vice versa.

Fridges are �50, fridge freezers are �75; delivery is free. The old appliance must be present at the time of delivery in order to be disabled. The old appliance can be removed under the scheme but this will incur an addtional charge.

Check with your local authority to see if the scheme is running in your area. For more information about Powergen FridgeSavers, or to pick up an application form, visit your local Currys store.

COOLANT GASES

HFCS - HEADING FOR CATASTROPHE
All fridges and freezers need a coolant gas to work. Two ozone-depleting gases once used in fridges, CFCs and HCFCs, have now been phased out in the EU. They were largely replaced by HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), a gas with the global warming potential of around 3,200 times that of CO2. (7)

Furthermore, the manufacture of HFCs is directly linked to the production of organochlorines, a class of chemicals that are persistent and toxic, and have been targeted for phase out.(7)

Unfortunately, there is no specific phase-out date for HFCs yet. At Kyoto, the EU agreed to reduce the emissions of six greenhouse gases, including HFC, by 8% below 1990 levels by 2010.5 The UK's share is a 12.5% reduction. In 1998, HFCs were expected to contribute 1.6% of the UK's global warming potential in 2010.(5)

HYDROCARBONS - A COOLER COOLANT?
Before CFCs were developed in the 1930s, hydrocarbon gases - propane, isobutane and cyclopentane - were widely used in refrigeration. They are by far the best choice of gas because they don't damage the ozone layer and don't contribute significantly to global warming, (although they do originate from crude oil). In addition, hydrocarbon fridges have been found to be nearly always more energy efficient than equivalent models using HFCs and CFCs.(7)

Greenpeace has been campaigning against HFCs for a long time and with some success. It pioneered the use of 'greenfreeze' hydrocarbon gases in the early 1990s and now these gases are becoming industry standard in domestic refrigeration in Europe, China, Japan, Latin America and Australia.

The first company to use the greenfreeze technology throughout its range was Iceland and now Greenpeace endorses its Kyoto range of fridges and freezers. Appliance manufacturers were initially lukewarm about switching to hydrocarbons. For example, Candy told ENDS in October 1998 that it had no plans to invest in hydrocarbon technology. And Hotpoint, according to one industry source, was rumoured to be "holding out as long as possible" before shifting from HFCs. (5)

Comet has confirmed that 95% of cold appliances it now sells use hydrocarbons, while 90% of Currys' stock uses hydrocarbons.(8) All Miele, Bosch, Siemens and Liebherr models are HFC free but most companies don't make a point of labelling their models or giving this information in their brochures or on their websites. Hydrocarbon fridges may be labelled 'CFC and HFC free' or 'R600a refrigerant/coolant'.

HFCs are still used in domestic refrigeration but more commonly in commercial refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Eleven years on, the Greenpeace campaign is beginning to bear fruit here too. Unilever, Coca-Cola and McDonald's recently announced that they would replace HFCs in their refrigeration equipment.(9)

"But three companies are not going to prevent climate change. At expected rates of usage, by 2050 HFCs will contribute as much to global warming as all the private cars on the planet today," concluded Gerd Leipold, Executive Director of Greenpeace International.(9) Greenpeace is calling on governments to phase out HFCs immediately.

REUSE AND RECYCLE
UK households discard 2.5 million fridges every year containing an estimated 2,000 tonnes of CFCs and HCFCs. Many will also contain the global warming gas HFC. Since January 2002, all fridges must have their coolant gases and insulation removed before they can be recycled or scrapped to stop these chemicals from being released into the atmosphere.

When these regulations were first introduced, the UK did not have enough facilities to cope and local authorities were left with 'fridge mountains'. Retailers refused to take away old ones when they delivered new fridges. According to Which?, now that more recycling facilities exist, some retailers - Comet, John Lewis, Dixons and Iceland - have begun to offer this service again for a �15 fee.(11)

Your local authority still has a responsibility to take your old fridge away. Some do it for free, others charge up to �30 or you could take it to the local domestic refuse site yourself.(11) You can find your nearest recycling plant at www.wasteconnect.co.uk or call 01743 343403

Alternatively, you could reuse old chest freezers as feed stores, water butts or convert them into composting containers or wormeries.(10) A number of organisations refurbish or pass on old models, often to families on low incomes:

Create UK Speke Hall Road, Speke, Liverpool L24 9HA Tel: 0151 448 1748 Email: info@createuk.com
Create exists to provide quality training and work for people who are at a disadvantage in the labour market. It repairs and refurbishes household appliances - fridges, cookers and washing machines, and sells them at reasonable prices.

Furniture Recycling Network c/o CFS, The Old Drill Hall, 17A Vicarage Street North, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 4JS Tel: 01924 375 252 Email: furniture.rn@virgin.net
Has details of organisations that take furniture, white goods and household appliances.

The SOFA Project 48-54 West Street, St Philips, Bristol BS2 0BL Tel: 0117 954 357 Email: info@sofaproject.org.uk
Furniture and electronic equipment scheme across the west.

Buying green

- Insist on a hydrocarbon (R600a) one which might be labelled 'CFC & HFC free'.
- Try to go for an appliance with the best energy rating (A+ or A++). Fridgesaver schemes make A rated appliances affordable for low income households.
- 'Two control' fridge-freezers allow adjustment of the two units separately. They also allow you to turn the fridge off and leave the freezer on when you go on holiday.
- Choose the smallest possible model that suits your needs.
- Freezers consume the most energy of all refrigeration products so try to do without one if possible. (Chest freezers, rather than upright ones, tend to be more energy efficient because the cold air does not escape when the door is opened.)
- Avoid Frost-Free freezers, as they use on average 45% more energy than manually defrosted models.

Using less energy

- The location of your fridge or freezer can have a big effect on the amount of energy used. For example, placing a freezer in a typical kitchen with an average temperature of 20oC can raise the running costs by 50% over placing it in a room at 10oC. Proximity to a direct heat source such as a boiler can treble the energy use.
- A full fridge/freezer generally uses less energy than one which is empty because the food retains the cold. But a jam packed one reduces efficiency because it stops the air from circulating - three-quarters full is best.
- Keep the temperature between 3oC and 5oC by using a fridge thermometer. Below this, you'll use more energy. Which?'s best buy thermometer in October 2003 was the ETI E810210 for �13.45 from Cookware UK Ltd.
- Opening the door for 10 seconds can mean the fridge takes 40 minutes to cool to its original temperature.
- The condenser grills at the back of your fridge or freezer should have plenty of ventilation space around them and be cleaned periodically to keep them dust free and working efficiently.
- Regularly defrosted freezers and ice boxes use less energy.

ALTERNATIVES
Fridges and freezers are now regarded as household essentials, but our dependence on them is mainly based on the desire for convenience - to shop in bulk less often and to have endless supplies of ready meals to hand. What on earth did people do before the invention of the fridge freezer?

ALTERNATIVES TO FRIDGES

The larder
Larders are generally small walk-in cupboards or rooms with walls on the exterior of a building constructed from thick stone. They may also have stone floors and shelves, usually slate. The larder is a real no-energy alternative to electric fridges, using thick walls rather than chemical coolants to maintain a cool atmosphere. A larder, like a fridge, is appropriate for cool storage, and is useful for keeping food that is to be used soon after purchase.

If your home is pre-1900, it is likely to have a room originally intended as a larder. If yours has not been converted into a second bathroom, toilet or cloakroom, use a thermometer to check out how suitable it would be for cool storage (5oC is recommended as the maximum temperature for a fridge). If it gets too warm, one option is to try insulating the door to stop heat entering from the rest of the house. Another option would be to use it only in the winter, allowing you to turn off the fridge for part of the year.

Ideally, all new houses would be built with a larder - a small room on the northern (coolest) side of the house, insulated from the adjoining rooms to prevent leakage of heat. Well designed, built-in cool storage might allow us to dispense with fridges entirely or use smaller models, with corresponding energy and cost savings.

DIY fridge
A useful DIY technique was employed by the ancient Egyptians, who discovered that water evaporating through a porous pot kept the inside of the pot cool. Individual products can be kept cool by standing an upturned plant-pot in a plate of water. Such a device serves admirably as a milk or water cooler.

A larger cooler can be made by standing items in a little water in a washing-up bowl, and draping a wet tea towel over them, touching the water to create a wick effect. It is important to keep such coolers in the shade. Items such as beer and wine can be kept outside during cool weather, or in a garage or cellar.

Go vegan
Vegan, and to a lesser extent vegetarian, households may find it easier to get by without a fridge, as meals are based around fresh vegetables, dried pulses and grains rather than animal products, which can be a health hazard if they go off. Changing diets to decrease the amount of dairy and meat products stocked would decrease the need for fridges.

ALTERNATIVES TO FREEZERS
There is no practical DIY alternative to the conventional freezer for freezing food. But freezers are easier for a household to do without, especially if you have a fridge with an icebox.

Food can be preserved using other methods such as pickling, bottling, salting, canning or drying. Prior to the invention of refrigeration, most households would dry or pickle a number of foods in the autumn, to make up for winter shortages. While pickling does not have the energy and pollution problems of freezing, it reduces the nutritional value of food to a greater degree, and gives food a distinctive vinegar taste and soft texture. See the 'links' section below for good advice on food preservation.

Canned foods will also last almost indefinitely, although their packaging is wasteful, especially if not recycled. For bulk purchasing, dried foods (especially grains and pulses) are always an option.

While there is no denying the convenience and cost savings of cooking, for example, a huge curry and freezing it to provide 'instant food' for the next three months, this is by no means essential for our nutritional or social wellbeing.

If you should choose to purge your freezer of unnecessary items, the remaining morsels will probably fit into the freezer compartment of a fridge, allowing you to consign your redundant freezer to the second hand shop, and use the vacated space to provide a home for your recycling boxes!

References
1 Daily Telegraph, 19/6/00
2 www.booker.co.uk/own-brands/tobacco.asp, 12/11/04
3 The Guardian, 20/12/02
4 ENDS, 02/02
5 The Ecologist, 1/10/01
6 World Nuclear Industry Handbook, 2004
7 GE Annual Report 2003
8 Multinational Monitor, Vol 22, No 7, 1/7/01
9 www.geae.com/about/geae/index.html, 28/10/04
10 The Observer, 1/8/04
11 www.hoovers.com, 2/11/04
12 www.investorab.com, 26/10/04
13 Hazards, 04/02
14 Jane's International Defence Directory, 2004
15 Power Finance, 31/1/02
16 www.kesaelectricals.co.uk, 19/11/04
17 www.koc.com.tr, 05/04
18 Clean Clothes Campaign newsletter 17, 12/03
19 www.hoovers.com, 10/1/03
20 www.lge.com, 27/6/02
21 Maquilas at a Glance, 30/6/99
22 www.liebherr.com/lh.en/44287_47204.asp, 12/11/04
23 World Trade & Development Politics, 25/10/01
24 www.ad.siemens.de/automotive/index_76.htm, 5/12/04
25 www.powergeneration.siemens.com, 5/12/04
26 www.siemens.com, 10/5/04

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