Film made of new material applied to freezer doors eliminates fog build-up

04-Jul-08

Trying to find the product you want through a foggy freezer door is time consuming - something supermarkets do not want their customers to experience. Until recently, the solution to this issue involved using high levels of energy. Heating freezer doors through a process, which blows warm air on the inside of the doors, is a common practice for creating clear, fog-free doors. However, heating glass in a freezer at -20ºC uses significant amounts of energy and the compressor needs to work harder to compensate for the heated glass - resulting in a vicious energy circle. SABIC Innovative Plastics' provides an optimal solution with its Lexan* freezer film. This anti-fog film can be easily applied to freezer doors to eliminate the build-up of fog on the doors. Investment in environmentally responsible solutions enables SABIC Innovative Plastics to provide customers with state-of-the-art products while minimizing the impact on the environment. Dutch supermarket chain Deen Supermarkets was also keen to reduce the energy used by their freezer cabinets. The solution came from a long-standing partnership between Frijado Super Service, who together with SABIC Innovative Plastics and Windowgard, have developed Lexan freezer film technology, which can eliminate the use of heating of the glass doors. This can potentially lead to an energy saving which equates to a reduction of more than 400 tons CO2 per year. This is the same that would be absorbed by 1300 fully grown trees. The technology is based on the application of a self-adhesive anti-fog film on the inside of the glass door. Deen Supermarkets started tests in mid-2007 at their shop in Bergen where Lexan freezer film was applied to five freezer doors. The window heating was switched off and both the fog accumulation and the energy usage were measured. The results exceeded expectations; not only was the fogging eliminated, additionally in the most extreme conditions, the data showed that 127 watts per door could be saved. If Deen were to apply this to all its freezer doors, they would save enough energy in one year to provide energy to 120 average homes. When this solution is used in over 60 of Deen's branches, it will potentially save 400 tons of CO2 annually.