Budweiser Invents Electricity-Free Beer Fridge Using Ancient Cooling Techniques
As summer approaches, Budweiser Europe, in collaboration with advertising agency BETC Paris and creative consultancy Frog Design, has come up with an eco-friendly refrigerator that can keep beer chilled without the need for electricity.
While many of us simply turn up the air-conditioning in sweltering weather, residents in countries including Morocco, Ghana, Mali, India, and Pakistan do not have regular access to electricity. Naturally, during heat waves, demand for cold drinks has increased by 14% over the last decade.
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Unfortunately, storing chilled beverages in areas with a lack of electricity can pose a challenge for local businesses, which often can’t offer customers a cool reprieve to chase away the heat. As such, the Bud Ground Cooler was born.
Calling it the “first sustainable electricity-free fridge,” Budweiser said the Bud Ground Cooler can keep canned drinks chilled below 8°C (46.4°F). The trick? An ancient cooling technique used by Egyptians and Indus Valley civilizations centuries ago.
According to the brand, the method works by using geothermal cooling properties of the ground to insulate the products. Previously, the antiquated method could cool items up to 15°C (59°F), but with the cooler, this number drops further to under 8°C (46.4°F).
To cool beer without electricity, the team placed nine-cylinder clay pots four meters (13 feet) below the ground where the air is refreshed by evaporation. The new, ultra-performing pots allow for double the air circulation to take place, allowing the air below to cool off even more.
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This happens thanks to the Venturi Effect, in which the air below ground is cooled even more through an air current that descends through a mast situated four-and-a-half meters (14.7 feet) high. The cool air then flows down a pipe directly into the ground to cool the beers lying in wait.
Bud Ground Coolers will first be installed in Morocco, with one cooler able to hold up to 300 bottles or cans of beer. Going forward, the company plans to bring more of its electricity-free refrigerator to regions with power shortages to support communities in need.
[via BETC Paris, images courtesy]
