Selection Criteria Wine Coolers

Methodology

Topten.eu presents the most energy efficient wine coolers on the European market. Only E and F models are listed on topten.eu. All listed products use natural climate-friendly refrigerants.

Scope

The wine coolers listed:

• have no compartments other than one or more wine storage compartments
• belong to one of two categories: one temperature zone or multi temperature zones
  
• are designed either for short-term wine storage to bring wines to ideal drinking temperature (serving) and/or for long-term wine storage to allow wine to mature (ageing)
• are available on the European market

Technical criteria

All models on Topten.eu meet the following criteria:

• Natural refrigerant with global warming potential (GWP) of ≤ 3 (e.g. R290/propane, R600a/isobutane, R744/CO2)
• Minimum energy efficiency class as given in the following table:

Data sources

Manufacturers’ declarations according to the EU energy label (regulation (EU) No 2019/2016).

Order of presentation

Products are ranked according to energy efficiency index. The order of presentation can be changed by selecting the sort order on the top right side of the product list.

Glossary

Brand, Model, Other models

Products’ model and brand name with link to its specific website. Other very similar products are listed as other models.

Electricity costs

Costs for electricity during product's life time. Assumptions:

• Typical life time: 10 years
• Annual energy consumption: according to EU energy label in kWh/year
• Tariff of electricity: 0.3 €/kWh (however can be large differences depending on country or electrical utility)

Total net volume

Sum of the storage volumes of all compartments in liters according to the EU energy label.

Max. number of 75cl Bordeaux bottles

Maximal number of standard Bordeaux bottles of 75 centilitres that may be fitted in the appliance in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Size of a standard bottle by the EU-Norm NF H 35-124:2006-07-22: H: 300.5 mm, Ø: 76.1 mm.

Storage temperatures

Storage temperature range in °C.

Temperatures zones

Number of zones with the possibility to have different temperatures, according to the declared design of the appliance.

Typically, each zone is design for a different purpose, for example: for aging (10 to 15°C), for chilling champagne (4 to 6°C) or for serving red wine (18°C).

Independent compartments

Number of different temperature zones, which are physically separated and temperature is independently controlled.

Energy efficiency class

Energy efficiency class according to the EU energy label. Most efficient is A, least efficient is G.

Energy Efficiency Index

Energy efficiency index (EEI) according to the EU energy label. Value in percent (%). The lower the value, the more efficient the product.

Energy

Annual energy consumption in kWh/year according to the EU energy label.

Energy efficiency class	EEI	EU energy label
A	≤ 41
B	41 < EEI ≤ 51
C	51 < EEI ≤ 64
D	64 < EEI ≤ 80
E	80 < EEI ≤ 100
F	100 < EEI ≤ 125
G	EEI > 125

Refrigerant

• R600a (isobutane, natural climate-friendly refrigerant)
• R290 (propane, natural climate-friendly refrigerant)
• R744 (CO2, natural climate-friendly refrigerant)

Type

• Compression
• Thermoelectrical (without refrigerant)

Noise

Airborne acoustical noise emissions expressed in dB(A) according to the EU energy label.

Ambient temperature

Manufacturer's recommendation. Suitable temperature range for placing the cabinet.

Dimensions

Width x depth x height in cm.

Countries available

This item displays the availability of models in European countries according to producers’ information. "EU" means that the model is available in all or most European countries. If the model is available in a number of countries only they are indicated by country codes according to ISO. "On demand" means that producers could not indicate the availability and that consumers have to ask in their countries on their own.

Infoplus

Publications

• The first energy labels for professional cooling appliances - lessons learnt. Maike Hepp, Steffen Hepp. EEDAL 2022, paper and presentation.
• Energy regulations: Transferring lessons from household to commercial appliances. Maike Hepp, Eric Bush, Hélène Rochat, Nadja Gross. eceee 2021, paper and presentation.
• ProCold Publishable Report, project results 2016-2018, July 2018
• ProCold Technical Report, market overview and development 2016-2018, April 2018
• Commercial and Professional Refrigeration Products: Promoting Energy Efficiency with Legislation, Empowered Stakeholders and Rebates. Eva Geilinger, Eric Bush. EEDAL 2015, presentation and paper.
• Best available technology of plug-in refrigerated cabinets, beverage coolers and ice cream freezers and the challenges of measuring and comparing energy efficiency. Eva Geilinger, Martien Janssen, Per Henrik Pedersen, Paul Huggins, Eric Bush. EEDAL 2013, presentation and paper.

Standards and labels

• Commission delegated regulation (EU) No 2019/2016 of 11 March 2019 supplementing Directive 2010/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to energy labelling of household refrigerating appliances.
• Commission regulation (EC) No 2019/2019 of 01 October 2019 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to Ecodesign requirements for household refrigerating appliances.
• Directive 2010/30/EU on the indication by labelling and standard product information on the consumption of energy and other resources by energy-related products (recast)
• Topten Policy Recommendations from January 2018

Links

• Energy efficiency measures by the European Commission.
• eceee, the European council for an energy efficient economy, provides a status overview on all products in the Ecodesign & Energy Labelling process.
• Coolproducts informs about the EU ecodesign process. It is a coalition of NGOs' campaign for a stronger, fast Ecodesign Directive to save the climate and money.
• ECOS (Ecostandard) is an international NGO with a network of members and experts advocating for environmentally friendly technical standards, policies and laws.
• EPREL (European Product Registry for Energy Labelling) is the European product database. Products with an energy label are registered in EPREL in order to provide consumers with detailed product information.

Manufacturers and dealers are kindly asked to contact info(at)topten.info to inform about more products meeting the Topten selection criteria.

11/2022 Hepp, Bush