We launched the eDrive® energy-saving draught beer cooler earlier this year. The cooler has been independently proven to save up to 60% (and up to 80% on some sites) in running costs.
We have undertaken several before-and-after energy studies since before the product was launched. The purpose of these is to ensure that our energy-saving targets are being met, and that our claims in this regard are accurate.
The most recent of these studies was a like-for-like trial in Croke Park stadium – one of the largest stadiums in Europe (in terms of capacity) and the largest in Ireland by far. The results are detailed below.
Overview
Two brand new draught beer coolers of the same size were installed in identical applications in Croke Park. One of these coolers was a standard machine, the other cooler was a brand-new energy saving design – the Kilkenny eDrive®.
Energy monitoring equipment was installed on each machine on 23rd October in order to compare power consumption and evaluate the suitability of eDrive beer coolers in a stadium application.
The eDrive achieved significant energy savings.
Background to Study
Kilkenny Cooling Systems manufactures the industry standard event beer cooling system in Ireland, with all of the country’s high demand sites using Kilkenny draught coolers, including Croke Park.
Over the last two years, Kilkenny Cooling Systems has been developing a new energy-saving draught beer cooling system. The eDrive® launched on the market in June 2024.
Multiple energy studies have been conducted in various pubs around Ireland under supervision from Diageo and the South-East Technological University.
Results from these studies showed typical energy savings from 50% to 70% (depending on the site configuration). A study has not yet been done in an event application. The Croke Park trial is the first time that the event spec coolers were monitored.
Method
On 23rd October the eDrive cooler was configured in energy save mode. Energy monitoring equipment was then installed on both machines (1 and 2).
On 29th October the monitoring equipment was retrieved, and the energy data was recovered.
This gave six days of continuous power consumption monitoring.
Given that the operating conditions were not changing (i.e. both bars were continuously closed) this is a sufficient time to extrapolate meaningful energy saving data.
Results: 09:30 on 23rd October to 09:30 on 29th October (6 days)
Overall Savings with eDrive Cooler
% Reduction: 60.40 %
€ savings expected in excess of €1000 / year
