Chilly Facts: How to make your fridge energy efficient
by Ellen Slattery
Feb 20th 2008 @ 4:02PM
Filed under: Home, Reference/Green 101, Activism
Can't afford a new refrigerator? Rather tinker with your old one than dump a new one on the landfill? There are plenty of ways to make your old fridge (and freezer) as efficient as possible.
- Keep your fridge and freezer as full as possible. An empty fridge will cycle more frequently than a full one. If you live alone or are a light eater, simply fill jugs with tap water and keep them in the fridge.
- Allow foods to cool before putting them in the fridge. It takes more energy to cool hot food than cold.
- Try to keep all foods and liquids covered. Uncovered food and drink means more moisture, and the appliance has to work harder to defrost itself.
- Defrost the freezer regularly to remove frost build-up.
- Disengage your automatic ice maker and freeze ice cubes in trays instead.
- Clean the door gasket and replace the rubber sealing strip, preventing excess air from escaping
- If you have it, turn on the power-saving/summer-winter switch.
- Set the fridge temp between 35 F and 28 F, and your freezer between 10 F and 15 F, for optimal energy use. Don't rely on the fridge thermometer, though - go out and buy your own.
- Once a year, move your fridge out from the wall and vacuum the condenser coils underneath, which will help the fridge to transport waste heat more quickly, resulting in shorter cycles.
- Make sure your fridge is as far from the oven as possible. It will have to work harder if it's next to a heat-producing appliance.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-20-2008 @ 6:05PM
Chris said...
An overly full freezer or fridge will work less effectively as there if there isn't enough air flow, you'll find some stuff frozen solid while other things melt away.
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