4 Ways to Make Your Refrigerator More Energy Efficient
Your refrigerator is the second biggest energy hog of your house, and if you count year-round use, it actually comes in first, beating out even your air conditioner in terms of kilowatts used.
The good news is that there is a lot of room for improvement, and the better news is that making the improvements is no big deal.
Here are four ways to reduce energy costs for your current refrigerator.
Keep It Full The more stuff you have in your refrigerator, the easier it is for it to stay cool.
If that seems counter-intuitive, consider this: If you had an empty cooler and put one can of cold soda in it, the soda would get warm much faster on its own than if you put two six packs of cold sodas in the cooler.
With a dozen sodas in the cooler, they kind of share the coolness and each can stays cooler longer than it would on its own.
Perhaps this is what groups of teenagers are trying to do.
So the more you keep in your refrigerator (and freezer), the less the refrigerator has to work to keep it cool inside.
Also, if you are worried about your electricity going out, keeping your refrigerator and freezer stocked to the brim is a good way to keep the food cold (and frozen) for as long as possible until the power comes back on.
Keep It Clean This hardly makes the "top 10 things I want to do this weekend" list, but cleaning the coils under your refrigerator will seriously improve its performance.
If you are a clean-freak, be prepared for a shock.
It gets amazingly dirty under refrigerators.
Most hardware stores sell brushes specifically shaped to clean around the coils.
I will refrain from telling you about the funky things I have pulled out from underneath my refrigerator.
Suffice it to say that cleaning under there is a good candidate for the "things to do once a month" list.
Keep It Closed The time-honored diversion of standing in front of the refrigerator, mindlessly looking for something to eat may be your favorite alternative to commercials, but it is terrible for energy efficiency.
It is also pretty bad for weight loss, too, but this is an article about refrigerators.
To save energy, decide what you want and get it.
Some people may not be refrigerator gazers, but they have the habit of leaving the refrigerator or freezer door open when they are either cooking or unpacking groceries.
I have watched people leave the refrigerator door open for a whole five minutes.
This is the energy equivalent of leaving the water running.
Keep It Between 35 and 38 Degrees Check your refrigerator temperature settings.
They are frequently set incorrectly -- according to my appliance serviceman, about 75% of people have their refrigerator thermostat set either too high or too low.
For freezers, the ideal setting is zero degrees.
If you find that food in your refrigerator is freezing or food in the freezer is thawing and you have set the thermostat according to the settings just mentioned, you may need to have the unit checked.
And it may be time for a new (energy efficient) refrigerator.
The good news is that there is a lot of room for improvement, and the better news is that making the improvements is no big deal.
Here are four ways to reduce energy costs for your current refrigerator.
Keep It Full The more stuff you have in your refrigerator, the easier it is for it to stay cool.
If that seems counter-intuitive, consider this: If you had an empty cooler and put one can of cold soda in it, the soda would get warm much faster on its own than if you put two six packs of cold sodas in the cooler.
With a dozen sodas in the cooler, they kind of share the coolness and each can stays cooler longer than it would on its own.
Perhaps this is what groups of teenagers are trying to do.
So the more you keep in your refrigerator (and freezer), the less the refrigerator has to work to keep it cool inside.
Also, if you are worried about your electricity going out, keeping your refrigerator and freezer stocked to the brim is a good way to keep the food cold (and frozen) for as long as possible until the power comes back on.
Keep It Clean This hardly makes the "top 10 things I want to do this weekend" list, but cleaning the coils under your refrigerator will seriously improve its performance.
If you are a clean-freak, be prepared for a shock.
It gets amazingly dirty under refrigerators.
Most hardware stores sell brushes specifically shaped to clean around the coils.
I will refrain from telling you about the funky things I have pulled out from underneath my refrigerator.
Suffice it to say that cleaning under there is a good candidate for the "things to do once a month" list.
Keep It Closed The time-honored diversion of standing in front of the refrigerator, mindlessly looking for something to eat may be your favorite alternative to commercials, but it is terrible for energy efficiency.
It is also pretty bad for weight loss, too, but this is an article about refrigerators.
To save energy, decide what you want and get it.
Some people may not be refrigerator gazers, but they have the habit of leaving the refrigerator or freezer door open when they are either cooking or unpacking groceries.
I have watched people leave the refrigerator door open for a whole five minutes.
This is the energy equivalent of leaving the water running.
Keep It Between 35 and 38 Degrees Check your refrigerator temperature settings.
They are frequently set incorrectly -- according to my appliance serviceman, about 75% of people have their refrigerator thermostat set either too high or too low.
For freezers, the ideal setting is zero degrees.
If you find that food in your refrigerator is freezing or food in the freezer is thawing and you have set the thermostat according to the settings just mentioned, you may need to have the unit checked.
And it may be time for a new (energy efficient) refrigerator.
