If you’ve ever gone to a root cellar, you probably thought it was quite cool. A root cellar is a structure underground that is used for the storage of vegetables, fruits, nuts, or other foods.
When it comes to keeping food fresh, a root cellar serves as nature’s fridge. To put it another way, they’re just holes drilled into the earth that is filled with food throughout the year. In the winter, it won’t freeze, and in the summer, it won’t be too hot.
A Dutch designer has created Groundfridge, a prefabricated structure designed to fit in your yard hole, bringing root cellars back to life. The Groundfridge, like old-fashioned root cellars, maintains a steady, chilly temperature year-round for food storage.
What is New in Groundfridge?
It’s a new twist on the traditional root cellar for today’s sustainable businesses and urban cosmopolitans who want to live self-sufficient lifestyles with their own vegetable garden. The Groundfridge takes advantage of the ground’s insulating properties and the colder nighttime temperatures to keep food fresh.
With this, the temperature inside the Groundfridge remains constant and cold throughout the year, which is ideal for storing fruits, vegetables, wine, or cheese. Permits are not needed for the Groundfridge because it is lightweight and portable, unlike a traditional cellar.
The Start of the Idea
The Weltevree Groundfridge, a finalist in the 2015 Dutch Design Awards, addresses the needs of those who wish to produce their own food and lead a modernized, self-sufficient lifestyle. Floris Schoonderbeek, the founder of Weltevree, constantly discovers and investigates new angles and possibilities in this field.
New world residents who wish to manage their food autonomously and independently can use the Groundfridge. A conventional cold cellar in an innovative product shape makes perfect sense as more and more individuals choose a self-sufficient lifestyle.
It is vermin-proof, airtight, watertight, and equipped with a ventilation system that measures temperature and humidity through an app. A hardwood railing and shelf are installed in the hand-laminated polyester shell. It also has LED strip lights inside of it.
How does it Work?
The Groundfridge is an underground, self-contained refrigerator. The ground’s insulating and cooling properties are utilized by the Groundfridge. As a result, the temperature within the Groundfridge stays between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius (50 and 53 degrees Fahrenheit) all year round, making it ideal for storing foods including fruits, vegetables, wine, and cheese.
Without using a refrigerator and electricity, you can keep your food cool. The Groundfridge can hold as much as 20 refrigerators’ worth of food.
The Chiller
Additional active cooling (chiller) circulates and cools the air within the Groundfridge during the hottest months of the year. The extra cooling power ensures that the Groundfridge maintains a steady temperature that may be adjusted to suit the user’s needs.
Installation
After being transferred, the Weltevree Groundfridge is placed in its new location, dug in, and then covered with soil. In addition to the extra cooling provided by the subsurface water, this 1 meter-thick soil layer offers adequate insulation to keep the Groundfridge’s core temperature stable at all times.
Additionally, there are no permits required for Groundfridge installation, and no soil is removed from the site during the digging process.
This video shows quickly the installation process:
Technical specifications
- Size globe diameter: 228 cm
- Standing height: 210 cm
- Total volume: 7.85 m3
- Volume sphere: 6.21 m3
- Storage capacity: 3.000 liters
- Weight: 300 kg
The entrance is broad and high for your safety, making it easy to enter and exit. The structure is simple, resembling an old cellar, yet with a few pleasant, modern touches. It’s a beautiful addition to your yard and a nice place to spend time.
Watch this animation to see inside the structure:
