F1 gadget to end chilly supermarket aisles

CHILLY supermarket aisles are about to become a thing of the past after Sainsbury’s unveiled Formula 1-style gadgets that stop cold air escaping from fridges.

The technology is designed to save energy but will also stop shoppers from feeling the chill when they are searching for refrigerated items.

The device is a thin strip of aluminium and plastic shaped like a wing which is attached to the front of the cabinet shelves.

The strip could save supermarkets millions in energy bills as fridges become more efficient, cutting their running costs by an estimated 15 per cent.

Sainsbury’s is the first supermarket to adopt the technology and is fitting the aerofoils in a number of its 1,400 supermarkets and convenience stores.

A similar effect could be achieved through putting a door on fridges, but supermarkets are worried that shoppers will buy less as a result because they would have less freedom to browse products.

The aerofoil was invented by Williams Advanced Engineering, an offshoot of the Williams F1 team, and a company called Aerofoil Energy.

Craig Wilson, managing director of Williams Advanced Engineering, said: “The aerofoil acts like the rear wing of an F1 car and guides the air to create an air curtain.

“It stops cold air spilling out into the stores.”

Myles Mccarthy, of the Carbon Trust, said the technology was a “stop gap and urged supermarkets to agree to put doors on their fridges by a universal deadline to save energy.

Supermarkets are in a drive to reduce their energy consumption. Sainsbury’s has already switched 250,000 lights to lower-energy LED fittings in its larger stores, slashing lighting energy consumption by 58 per cent.