Jan. 9, 2015: First Prototype of Magnetocaloric Wine Cooler Shown at CES 2015
New Technology Provides for Energy Efficient Cooling
LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany, and LAS VEGAS — Haier, Astronautics Corporation of America, and BASF have introduced at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas a proof-of-concept wine cooler refrigerated by a magnetocaloric heat pump.
The heat pump utilizes magnetocaloric materials, which heat up when put in a magnetic field and cool down when removed from the magnetic field. In the magnetocaloric heat pump, heat is transferred from the cold interior of the wine cooler to the warm surrounding air by shuttling a water-based coolant through the magnetocaloric materials as they go in and out of the magnetic field.