What Makes a Low-Energy Display Fridge?

A low-energy display fridge is one that holds its temperature on fewer kilowatt-hours per day than other cabinets of the same type, size and temperature range. It gets there through its parts — doors, glazing, lighting, fans, compressor, refrigerant and controls — and through being matched to the room it has to work in.

This guide goes inside the cabinet: where a display fridge's power actually goes, which parts move the number, and how to read the energy figures on a quote so you can tell a genuinely efficient cabinet from one that only says so. If you are earlier in the process, start with choosing a display fridge.

Where a display fridge's power goes

Nearly all of a display fridge's electricity is spent moving heat out of the cabinet. The compressor does most of that work, and everything else in the cabinet either adds heat it has to remove or makes that heat easier to remove.

Heat gets in four ways. Warm air enters every time a door opens or, on an open case, mixes in continuously across the front. Heat conducts through the glass and the walls. Lights, fans and any heaters inside the cabinet add their own heat. And warm stock loaded onto the shelves has to be pulled down to temperature.

A low-energy cabinet works on every one of those, which is why no single feature makes one. It is the sum of the parts.

Doors are the biggest single lever

The largest energy difference between two otherwise similar cabinets is whether the front is open or closed. An open multideck is cooled by a curtain of cold air that is constantly mixing with the shop; a glass door stops most of that exchange. If you are still weighing open multidecks and glass-door cabinets, settle that first, because it outweighs everything else on this list.

Once the cabinet has doors, how well they close matters as much as the fact that they exist. Self-closing doors stop a door being left ajar by a busy customer, and a gasket that seals all the way round stops a slow leak you will never see.

Glazing, frames and anti-condensation heat

Glass is where a doored cabinet loses most of its heat. Double or triple glazing with a gas fill between the panes slows that loss and helps keep the outside of the door from fogging.

Where a door is prone to condensation, some cabinets run small electric heaters in the glass or frame to keep it clear. Those heaters can run for hours every day and add heat the compressor then has to remove, so ask whether any part of the door or frame is heated and for how long. Our guide to mullionless glass doors goes further into how door construction affects running cost.

Lighting and fans

LED lighting uses a fraction of the power of fluorescent tubes and, just as important, puts far less heat into the cabinet. Every watt of light inside the cabinet is a watt the compressor then has to remove a second time.

Evaporator and condenser fans run long hours too. Electronically commutated fans, usually called EC fans, use noticeably less power than older shaded-pole motors for the same airflow. It is a small line on a spec sheet with a long tail on the power bill.

Compressor, refrigerant and controls

Natural R290 refrigerant is efficient and has a negligible global warming potential, which is why it has become common on modern plug-in cabinets. A variable-speed compressor can also save energy by running slowly for long periods instead of cycling hard on and off.

Controls finish the job. A controller that defrosts only when it is needed rather than on a fixed timer, and that holds the set point tightly rather than overshooting, saves energy every day without anyone noticing it working. Frost-free operation clears ice from the evaporator automatically; left alone, that ice acts as insulation and makes the compressor work harder.

Chill Pro display fridges run natural R290 refrigerant, high-brightness LED lighting, self-closing glass doors and frost-free operation, and are rated to operate at 32°C and 60% relative humidity. Ask us for the rated energy figure for the size you are considering.

How to read the energy figures

Commercial refrigerated display cabinets sold in Australia are regulated under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards, or GEMS. The current rules are the GEMS (Refrigerated Cabinets) Determination 2024, in force since 5 October 2024, and every covered model has to be registered and meet a minimum energy performance standard before it can be sold.

Three figures matter when you compare cabinets.

Energy consumption in kWh per 24 hours — what the cabinet used over a day in a controlled test room. This is the number that becomes your power bill.
Energy Efficiency Index, or EEI — how that consumption compares with a reference for the cabinet's type and size. The minimum standard is set as an EEI limit, and a lower EEI means a more efficient cabinet.
Climate class — the room temperature and humidity the cabinet was tested in. Climate class 3 is 25°C at 60% relative humidity; climate class 4 is 30°C at 55%.

Only compare kWh figures between cabinets of the same type, temperature range and climate class, because a cabinet tested in a cooler room will look better on paper than it performs in a hot shop. Registered models can be looked up on the government's Energy Rating registration database. A star label is voluntary on these cabinets rather than mandatory, so the absence of stars does not by itself mean a cabinet is inefficient.

Match the cabinet to the room

A cabinet uses the least energy when it works inside the conditions it was designed for. Put one rated for a mild room onto a hot, humid shop floor and it will run longer, sweat on the glass and use more than its rating says.

That matters most in Queensland. A shop floor on a summer afternoon can run well above test-room conditions, so check the climate class against the room you actually have, not the one in the brochure. Our guide to buying display fridges in Brisbane covers what a Queensland shop floor asks of a cabinet.

Placement moves the number too. Keep the cabinet out of direct sun and away from ovens and entry doors, and leave the clearance the manufacturer asks for around the condenser so it can reject heat. Sizing the cabinet to the wall comes before all of it — a cabinet squeezed into a gap it was not designed for cannot breathe.

The daily habits that keep it low-energy

A low-energy cabinet only stays that way if it is looked after. Clean the condenser coil regularly, check the door gaskets for gaps, load stock below the load line so the air can circulate, and let hot product cool before it goes onto the shelf.

Our guide to habits that cut running costs covers the everyday routine, and for a view across a whole store rather than a single cabinet, see what refrigeration costs a supermarket to run.

What to ask before you order

Six questions that tell you whether a cabinet is low-energy or only described that way.

What is the rated energy consumption in kWh per 24 hours, and at what climate class?
Is the model registered under GEMS, and what is its EEI?
Is any part of the door, frame or cabinet heated, and for how long each day?
Is the lighting LED, and are the fan motors EC?
How does the cabinet defrost — on a timer, or only when it is needed?
What refrigerant does it use, and what does the warranty cover, including labour?

A supplier who knows the cabinet will answer all six without reaching for a brochure.

What it costs, and how to pay for it

We quote per business rather than publishing prices, because cabinet type, size, climate class and freight all move the number and no two shops are the same.

The figure worth comparing over the long run is kilowatt-hours per day. Across a cabinet's working life its electricity can rival what you paid for it, so a lower-energy cabinet often earns back the difference on the power bill.

Chill Pro Trusted Finance Partners offer competitive rates in the market — ask us about it, and our services page sets out what is included.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a display fridge low-energy?
Keeping heat out and removing it efficiently. Glass doors that close themselves and seal well, gas-filled glazing with little or no heating, LED lighting, efficient fans, an efficient compressor and refrigerant, and controls that defrost only when needed all reduce the kilowatt-hours a cabinet uses each day.

How do I compare the energy use of two display fridges?
Ask for the rated energy consumption in kWh per 24 hours and the climate class it was tested at, and only compare cabinets of the same type, temperature range and climate class. Multiply the kWh figure by your electricity rate and by 365 for a yearly running cost.

Do commercial display fridges in Australia have energy star ratings?
Covered cabinets must be registered and meet minimum energy performance standards under GEMS, but a star label is voluntary for them. The rated kWh per 24 hours and the EEI are the figures to ask for.

Are glass-door display fridges more energy efficient than open multidecks?
Yes. Closing the front stops most of the cold air mixing with the shop, which is usually the largest single energy difference between two otherwise similar cabinets.

Does a hot shop make a display fridge use more power?
Yes. A cabinet uses more energy the warmer and more humid its surroundings are, which is why its climate class should match the room it will actually work in — especially through a Queensland summer.

Looking for a low-energy display fridge?

Tell us what you are merchandising, the wall length you have to fill and the conditions your shop runs at, and we will come back with a cabinet configuration that suits the room and a delivered quote. We are based in Queensland and New South Wales and freight Australia-wide.