Is It Wasteful To Have Open Fridges At The Supermarket?

We often see lots of supermarket fridges that have no doors. These fridges are called open fridges or Open display fridges. However, you may be confused about why these front-open fridges are used so frequently in the supermarket to display juice, beverages, milk, beers, etc.

1. Power Consumption Of the Open Display Fridge

Is it wasteful to have an open fridge at the supermarket? We compare a similar size of an open display fridge and a 2 door commercial refrigerator:

Open display fridge (no doors)
Size: 2580mm(Length)×900mm(Depth)×2050mm(Height)
Power Consumption: 42kwh/24h

Glass door display fridge(double doors):
Size: 1200mm(Length)×700mm(Depth)×2100mm(Height)
Power Consumption: 3.2kwh/24h+3.2kwh/24h (here we double the power because single unit glass door chiller is only 1200mm long)

The answer is obvious.
42kwh/24h is far more than 6.4kwh/24h, although the depth of the open display fridge is larger than the chiller with doors.
Therefore, in comparison, open display fridge is high power consumption.

2. What is Open Display Fridge?

An open display fridge is a kind of multi deck chiller without doors. It features with powerful refrigeration units at the bottom of the chiller or remote away. The multi deck design offers several shelves for displaying the mechandisers. Moreover, the remarkable feature is that there is cold air curtain in front of the mechanidisers.

Therefore, it is also called as Open air cooler or Open Air Merchandiser.

This type of fridge is commonly used in supermarkets, convenience stores, and food service establishments to refrigerate and display a wide range of items, such as beverages and perishable products.

3. What is the Working Principle Behind An Display Fridge?

The working principle behind an open fridge lies in its cold air falls in front of the chiller.
The cold air falls like a cold air curtain, which keeps the cold air inside and blocks the outside air continuously.
The refrigeration system, which comprises a compressor, condenser, and evaporator. The compressor circulates the refrigerant in the system while the condenser transfers heat from the refrigerant to another medium. The evaporator absorbs the heat from the fridge’s interior, resulting in a cooling effect. An open display fridge also utilizes fans and temperature control mechanisms to ensure uniform temperatures.

4. Is It Wasteful To Have Open Fridges At the Supermarket?

Open fridges are less energy-efficient as compared to closed-door units. With their open design, the products stored inside are exposed to room temperature air. This means they have to work harder to maintain the desired low temperature. Consequently, they use more energy than their counterparts with closed doors.

Below is an illustration of the power consumption of different sizes of open fridges.

5. Why the Supermarket use lots of Open Display Fridges?

There are many different supermarket fridges, open fridges are the most popularly used in supermarkets and convenience stores, and it’s easy to see why. These fridges offer many advantages that cater to both customers and businesses alike.

1. Merchandising and Visibility: Open chillers provide excellent visibility and easy access to products for customers. People can see the displays directly without any blocks, even transparent doors, and reach the merchandisers without opening doors, which enhances the shopping experience and increase impulse purchases.
2. Convenience: The open layout of these chillers allows customers to quickly grab items they need without the need to open and close doors, which can slow down the shopping process.
3. Aesthetics: Open chillers usually have multi decks, its tidy but dazzling displays attract people to stay and watch; they can create an open and inviting atmosphere, making the supermarket appear more spacious and attractive to customers.
4. Customer Interaction: Open chillers enable customers to compare products easily and read labels, fostering engagement and interaction with the merchandisers.
5. Sales Increasing: Although the open display cooler has a high power consumption, it brings higher profits and benefits to the owners
6. Contributing Cool Air: In Summer, this kind of supermarket fridge contributes cool air to cool down the temperature of the supermarket.

6. Conclusion

It’s worth noting that supermarkets often balance these advantages against the higher power consumption of open chillers. As technology continues to evolve, energy-efficient solutions are being developed to mitigate the environmental impact of these refrigeration systems while still maintaining the benefits.

Open display fridges for supermarkets are worth investing in, which can not be defined as waste. The benefits are remarkable as well. Therefore, open fridges are a good choice if you run a hypermarket or large grocery store!