A Cool $30 Million : 14 Entries Vie for Prize in Super-Refrigerator Contest

A team of three engineers, under tight security in Sacramento on Thursday, will make the first cut among 14 entries from appliance manufacturers and inventors in a $30-million nationwide contest to build a super-efficient home refrigerator.

There’s a lot at stake beyond the multimillion-dollar prize being offered by a group of 24 energy utilities serving 15% of the nation’s households. The winner may also get a leg up in a potentially lucrative new corner of the $4-billion U.S. refrigerator market.

Major refrigerator makers, including Admiral, Amana and Whirlpool, won’t confirm that they’ve entered the race. And the sponsors won’t even say who will be evaluating the various proposals.

“We don’t want anyone to get to them (the contest judges) and twist their thinking,� explains Ray Farhang, chairman of the Super Efficient Refrigerator Program Inc. (SERP), which is running the competition.

The purpose of the contest--announced in July--is to spur development of a household refrigerator that would use half the energy of today’s average model and to get those machines to market faster than manufacturers would on their own, perhaps as early as 1994.

Utilities are encouraging development of more efficient refrigerators as federal and state regulators pressure them to meet future energy demand mostly through conservation instead of building new power plants.

The contest rules also require that the super refrigerator not use ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are due to be banned in 1995. The contest was sponsored by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency Inc., a group of environmentalists, government regulators and electric and gas utilities.

Federal standards have already reduced home refrigerators’ energy use by two-thirds since 1972, and the super refrigerator would cut power consumption again by half. The sponsors estimate that a super refrigerator would use $40 worth of electricity a year, compared to $80 for a comparable current model.

In recent years, regulators have offered incentives for utilities to invest in conservation. Utilities, in turn, have offered rebates to consumers who buy energy-efficient appliances. Southern California Edison, for example, offers rebates to households that purchase more efficient air conditioners, evaporative coolers, heat pumps, water heaters, washing machines and light bulbs. The Rosemead-based company also pays up to $100 to customers who buy a refrigerator that is 15% to 25% more efficient than standard 1990 models.

The price-sensitive refrigerator business is sometimes compared to the commodities market. Consumers shopping for a refrigerator tend to look for the lowest price for a decent product. They show little interest, however, in paying extra for a more energy-efficient model, industry representatives say.

Understandably, appliance makers are reluctant to sink lots of money into developing a new product or bringing it to market before its time. Industry executives often mention General Electric’s product debacle in the mid-1980s, when it had to recall refrigerators with a new and improved--but faulty--compressor. General Electric won’t say exactly how much the ill-fated decision cost the company, but in 1988 it attributed a $450-million charge to earnings to the cost of the recall.

For refrigerator manufacturers, the contest comes amid fierce competition in the U.S. market. The nation’s weak economy has hurt refrigerator sales. Many refrigerators are sold with new homes, and the housing industry has been in a slump. There are some recent signs of improvement, however, as refrigerator production in August rose 3.3% from the year-earlier month.

The $30-million prize could give the winner a sizable edge, particularly if consumer demand grows and rival manufacturers begin producing super-efficient models. The utility company sponsors estimate that $30 million is about the cost of setting up a new refrigerator assembly line.

“In a highly competitive industry, getting your assembly line bought for you should be a pretty impressive incentive,� says David B. Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who first suggested the contest.

And, Goldstein adds, “If you don’t submit a bid and your competition does, they have walked off with the $30 million and you will probably have to develop a comparable product in a year or two anyway.�

The contest sponsors received almost 500 inquiries for what they have dubbed the Golden Carrot Contest. Some of the entries came from companies that do not now make refrigerators. Two entries came from Russia. Most small inventors said they decided not to enter because they felt the contest was tilted in favor of large manufacturers.

The prize will go to the company that proposes the best design for a super-efficient refrigerator and demonstrates its ability to mass-market the finished appliance. Entrants must prove they have access to a national distribution and repair network and that they can build at least 100,000 units a year, beginning as early as 1994. Contest planners say any fewer machines would have a negligible effect on a U.S. market that absorbs more than 7 million new refrigerators a year.

The utilities group and other experts say that technological innovation isn’t as important as getting existing ideas into the market. “Getting a more efficient refrigerator doesn’t require a breakthrough,� says Jean M. Lupinacci of the Environmental Protection Agency’s global change division, which released a report last February on super-efficient refrigerators.

The 14 proposals will be whittled down to two finalists by January, and a winner selected by late June, organizers said.

“We expect that in 1995 these Golden Carrot refrigerators will be on department store shelves, costing no more than the energy-guzzler sitting next to them,� Goldstein says.

If the refrigerator contest is a success, Farhang, the program chairman, predicts that the utilities could devise a similar incentive program for two or more other appliances within 18 months. Some possibilities include super-efficient washing machines, air conditioners, heat pumps and rooftop heaters.

Building a Better Icebox

Oct. 15 was the deadline for proposals to build and market a highly efficient household refrigerator/freezer. Sponsored by a nationwide consortium of utilities, the Super Efficient Refrigerator Program, or SERP, is offering a $30-million prize.

Contest rules call for a refrigerator of standard size--from 14.5 to 24.4 cubic feet--that defrosts automatically, does not use chlorofluorocarbons CFCs) either as the refrigerant or as insulation, is moderately priced and is at least 25% more efficient than the 1993 federal standards. Some improvements that engineers believe could be made:

MOTORS

Current models: Refrigerators may have as many as five conventional electric motors to run compressors, fans, automatic icemakers.

Improvements: More efficient electric motors are already available and in some refrigerator designs fans could be eliminated entirely.

SEALS

Current models: Single seals, made with rubber and magnets. Heat leaks past gaskets into the cooling compartments

Improvements: The hollow area inside current gaskets might be reduced or filled with an insulating material. Or, the entire seal system could be redesigned

COOLING SYSTEM

Current models: The refrigerant (now CF-12) as a gas passes through the evaporator and pulls heat out of the cooling compartments. Then it is compressed and sent to the condenser, where it becomes a liquid and releases heat outside the refrigerator. CF-12 must be phased out by the end of 1995. Some efficiency could be gained with improvements to the system made at the time of that switch.

Improvements: Evaporator and condenser coils could be shaped differently or made larger or smaller to get increased efficiency. The condenser could be located on top where heat wouuld rise away from the refrigerator. CF-12f could be replaced by various fluorocarbons or hydrocarbons, such as ammonia, that do not include chlorine molecules.

COMPARTMENTS

Current models: Because they share the same cooling system, freezer and refrigerator compartments are not totally separate; warm air enters both whenever the door of either compartment is opened.

Improvements: Separate, smaller systems for both would cool each compartment more efficiently.

DEFROSTER

Current models: Defrosters run on daily cycles. But many climates don’t require this, so energy is wasted.

Improvements: Sensors would trigger defrost cycle only whe needed

INSULATION

Current models: CFC 11, to be banned by 1995, is now used to create bubbles in conventional foam insulation.

Improvements: Insulation panels in which a vacuum is formed, could be as much as three times as efficient while using non-CFC materials and at no greater thickness. Other ideas include adding carbon black to a non-CFC foam or simply using thicker insulation, which would increase the outside dimensions.

Source: Assn. of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Environmental Protection Agency.

Less Juice for the Fridge

The energy consumption of refrigerators* has been steadily declining for years as models became more efficient.

Energy use in kilowatt-hours per year

1980: 1,278

1991: 857

* Refrigerators of average size: 19-20 cubic feet

Source: Assn. of Home Appliance Manufacturers