Wirth Research’s Computational Fluid Dynamics technology designed the first F1 race car without the use of a wind tunnel. Now, it is used to design energy-saving products for supermarkets and retailers.
Keeping Hot Air Out
Wirth Research’s products have saved retailers £102,961,873 since their launch in 2017.
Since 2017, Wirth Research’s products have saved a combined 376 gigawatt hours of energy. The average medium British home, according to Ofgem data, uses an average of 14,200 kWh of gas and electricity combined per year.
This comes with considerable carbon savings too; Wirth Research has saved a total of 116,590 tonnes of CO2 since 2017.
The energy price cap in the UK is set to increase by 6.4 pr cent on 1 April 2025. As energy prices rise, many retailers will be looking for ways to reduce their energy and operational costs.
Breakdown of energy savings:
EcoBlade
- Wirth Research’s EcoBlade technology can retrofit traditional refrigerators, and reduces the need for a fridge door, by using airflow alone to keep products cool.
- The EcoBlade products save on average 33 per cent when compared with traditional open-door refrigerators.
- EcoBlade products provide a payback time of under 2 years.
- Since 2017, 281,796 metres of EcoBlade products have been fitted to date, saving a total 331 GWh.
TrueChill
- Similar to the EcoBlade, TrueChill can be applied on conventional open refrigerated display cabinets.
- The TrueChill has measured 43 per cent of energy savings on open-fronted refrigerators.
- A total of 7,796 linear metres of TrueChill cabinets have been installed to date, resulting in 8,181.48 C02 tonnes of energy saved, along with 35,113,630 of kWh saved since installation.
AirDoor
- Wirth Research’s AirDoor uses airflow alone to keep outside air, dust, exhaust fumes and insects out of retail spaces and supermarkets while allowing retailers to keep their doors open.
- The technology requires no heating or cooling components, drastically reducing a building’s energy usage.
- AirDoor installations have resulted in 31 per cent reduction in annual gas use for supermarkets, and a 54 per cent reduction in cold weather electricity usage in retail spaces.
- Since inception, the 150+ Airdoor installations have resulted in 6.9 GWh saved.
- AirDoor can reduce the size required for a building’s heat-pump by 33 per cent
Keeping Cold Air Out
Wirth research’s Computational Fluid Dynamic Products were originally used to design race car technology. The technology pivoted to retail applications in 2017.
Previously, Waitrose has cut energy use in its stores by up to 40 per cent using the EcoBlade open fridge technology.
Speaking on the development of these products, Nick Wirth, Founder of Wirth Research, has said “When designing the EcoBlade, Airdoor and TrueChill products, we wanted to prove that energy and CO2 savings do not need to come at the cost of the customer’s comfort. We hope that these products prove that the most economical options can be the most environmentally friendly options too.”
