Weltevree’s Groundfridge is an ingenious way to provide an affordable, insulating, cooling and storage system for wine, fruit, vegetables and cheese. The pre-fabricated cellar can hold as much as 20 refrigerators without the use of electricity and uses the insulating effects of the soil and water to keep the temp at between 50° and 53° degrees Farenheit (10 and 12 °Celsius) throughout the year.
With more and more people opting for a self-sustaining lifestyle, a traditional cool cellar in an innovative product form makes perfect sense. It is airtight, water-tight, vermin-resistant and fitted with a ventilation system (which can be operated using an app) that monitors the temperature and humidity. The hand-laminated polyester shell is fitted with a wooden handrail and shelving. Other options include LED strip lighting and cabinet.
A finalist in the 2015 Dutch Design Awards, the Groundfridge meets the requirements of people who grow their own food and choose to live a modern and self-sustaining way. Floris Schoonderbeek (founder of Weltevree) is continuously discovering and exploring new angles, chances and materials that he puts to good use in improving and enriching our habitat. With the Groundfridge, he presents a means for new world citizens who want to handle their food in an autonomous, independent way.
What exactly is it and how does it work?
The Groundfridge is a buryable, autonomic operating (cooling) cellar. The Groundfridge uses the insulating capacity of the soil and the cooling effect of the underground water. This allows the temperature within the Groundfridge to remain a steady 10 – 12 °C ( 50-53 ºF) throughout the entire year – the perfect temperature to store, for example, fruits, vegetables, wine and cheese.
No electricity bill
Keeping your food stored chilly without using a refrigerator and thus without using energy? Not only is this possible, it is in fact based on an age-old principle. The Groundfridge has as much storage capacity as 20 refrigerators.
How does it work?
The Groundfridge is transported and delivered to you, dug in and covered up with the soil taken from its new lodging place. This covering layer of soil is about 1 meter thick and has ample insulating properties for a steady core temperature within the Groundfridge as the underground water provides additional cooling. Added benefit: installing the Groundfridge requires no permits, and when digging it in, no soil need be carried off of the premises.
20 refrigerator capacity, zero electricity
The Groundfridge has a storage capacity of 3,000 liters. This equals the contents of 20 refrigerators and will store 1,102 lbs (or 500 kg) of food (the harvest of a 250 m2 vegetable garden). That’s enough to prepare 350 meals – enough to feed a family of 5.
On average, 20 A grade EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) Refrigerators combined, use 6,620 kWh per year, whereas the Groundfridge performs the same feat completely without any electricity. It’s funny, really, how this innovative product has remained under the radar.
Product specs:
Function: Autonomously functioning underground root cellar with a constant temperature of around 10 degrees.
Dimensions: Diameter: 228 cm, Weight: 300 kg
Material: hand-laminated polyester
Installation and transport: On request
Options: The Groundfridge can be delivered with cabinet and lighting
Available from Autumn 2015
Technical Specs:
Designer Floris Schoonderbeek
Welvetree