5 ms·
I thought the idea was that these would allow more insulation in the doors than glass, and that the energy use from the screen was less than the energy saved fr
by abakker 5y ago
I thought the idea was that these would allow more insulation in the doors than glass, and that the energy use from the screen was less than the energy saved from cooling losses (but what is the payback from the manufacturing, shipping, install, recycling, repair etc?). I'm skeptical, but it is conceivably possible that it works out if the screens are very efficient, using off the shelf parts. Maybe.
- nneonneo 5y agoLarge panels like this emit heat. Any wins from better insulation are going to be offset by needing to keep the panel’s heat well away from the refrigerated contents. Triple-paned glass insulates pretty well and for a fraction of the cost…
- foxpurple 5y agoIf they cared about energy they could double glaze the glass
- scraptor 5y agoWhat about the thermal losses from customers opening the door to see the product while the giant whole-aisle ad is playing?
- nabilhat 5y agoEither way they're doors. I'm guessing that increasing the frequency of door openings is an intended outcome of whatever they were thinking. A vending machine could be more energy efficient while providing exactly the same old consumer interaction disadvantages that are supposed to be a novel feature of this display.
- slipframe 5y agoEnergy losses will be through the roof! To see what's actually behind half those doors, you have to open each one up instead of keeping the door closed and looking through it. Even when it's in "display the products" mode, are you really going to trust that it has the correct inventory configured when you're looking for your favorite beverage and can't find it? No, you're going to go down the aisle opening every single door to check for yourself.
- esjeon 5y agoIf you insulate too good, the heat from display won't be able to escape, and you'll need a gap b/w screen and insulation, making the door even thinker. I'm pretty sure, by design, those displays are being cooled with the freezers behind them.
- dzhiurgis 5y agoPlus you don’t need to open it to see product information (especially useful for visually impaired aka most people given how small those product labels are).