Carlsberg’s new DraughtMaster™ pint puller is a serious power drinker

Drinking cold beer could turn out to be a costly affair – especially if it comes from the tap of Carlsberg’s new Draughtmaster™ all-in-one dispenser. A test of the unit shows that it consumes as much power as five A+ energy rated refrigerators. The research, commissioned by the Danish Electricity Saving Trust, also demonstrated that running costs in a full year would be equivalent to the original purchase price.

‘Carlsberg is marketing the Draughtmaster™ to home users, but is failing to point out its power guzzling features,’ explains Christian Lüders, Project Manager at the Danish Electricity Saving Trust. ‘The power required to keep beer at the perfect temperature is more than 20 times the amount required to keep it cool in an A+ energy rated refrigerator. Using the unit for a full year will land consumers with an extra electricity bill equal to the original purchase price. This adds a whole new meaning to the claims made in Carlsberg’s advertising.’
 
Drinks same amount of power as five refrigerators
Carlsberg’s 5-litre beer chiller uses around 1.7 kWh of electricity per day, which adds up to an annual consumption of at least 621 kWh – equivalent to the power used by five ordinary A+ rated refrigerators with a combined volume of 1,000 litres.

The Trust also points out that currently-available expertise and technology can help minimize the power consumption of units such as the Carlsberg DraughtMaster™. For example, Askø Vølund market an A+ energy rated refrigerator with a built-in beer chiller.

‘This is a sorry state of affairs because power consumption has not been factored into the development of Carlsberg’s all-in-one dispenser – especially because Danes are well known for being very energy efficient and are amongst the leaders in the refrigeration area,’ says Christian Lüders.

He adds that over 90% of Danish consumers purchase A, A+ or A++ energy-rated refrigerators and freezers. This makes them some of the most energy-aware buyers in the world.

Carlsberg’s environmental policy
In the light of the test results, the Danish Electricity Saving Trust has asked Carlsberg to consider the future marketing of the unit with a view to choosing a more energy efficient solution for dispensing chilled beer – especially one that would be aligned more closely with the Carlsberg Group Environmental Policy.  In this connection, the Trust has offered to arrange contacts with research organizations and producers with the necessary expertise.

According to Carlsberg’s Web site the company is marketing the DraughtMaster™ unit in Scandinavia, Portugal and the UK. Furthermore, Carlsberg plans to launch the product in a number of other countries in Europe and the rest of the world.

For further information please contact:

Christian Lüders, Project Manager
The Danish Electricity Saving Trust
Tel.: +45 33 95 58 13
Mobile: +45 41 18 84 29
E-mail: chl@elsparefonden.dk

The Danish Electricity Saving Trust
The Danish Electricity Saving Trust is an independent trust led by a Board appointed by the Danish Ministry of Transport and Energy. The Trust was established in 1997 with the purpose of promoting electricity savings in the household and public sectors. The Trust is financed by a special electricity savings charge of 0.0008 Euros/kWh payable by households and the public sector. The total annual proceeds amount to just under 13 million Euros.