Refrigerators are the biggest consumers of energy among household appliances. And no wonder. They are pretty much unique in that they are always on, running constantly and using energy every minute of the day and night.
Can anything be done to help them run more efficiently, other than taking up a diet of dried fruits and nuts, and supplementing that with canned veggies?
Yes. Besides buying an energy star refrigerator, (which is a very good idea as it will save you money) the answer may be as simple as buying more groceries. There! Now you know what to spend your energy bill savings on. And won’t more food in the fridge make household occupants happy!
The fact is, keeping your refrigerator well-stocked, albeit not overstuffed, allows it to run efficiently. The items in a full refrigerator are closer together and act as insulators, keeping each other cold. When low on groceries, you could simply put containers of water in the fridge to achieve the same effect. But use this suggestion at your own risk. (When hungry teenagers find only an abundance of yummy H20 stocked in the fridge it may not go over too well.)
The same goes for the freezer. A well-stocked freezer runs much more efficiently and will keep the ice cream nice and firm. Again, freezing jugs of water will not only aid in keeping a half-empty freezer cold, they may come in handy as drinking water in an emergency, and if the power goes out, they can help keep food frozen longer.
More ways to maximize performance:
- Give it some breathing room. Make sure there are a few inches of space on all sides. This keeps air circulating better around the condensing coils.
- Speaking of coils, clean them! This is very important because dirty coils trap heat instead of allowing it to dissipate quickly.
- Make sure the seals lining the doors are clean for a good tight fit. Otherwise, cold air can escape, causing the refrigerator to have to work much harder.
- Last, but not least, is everyone’s favorite. An old adage from mom: Don’t stand there with the door open!
Well, that goes without saying. But when you’re hungry and lacking cognitive powers, it may seem very difficult to find something suitable. Of course, now that the refrigerator is well-stocked for maximum efficiency, you may just be able to find a nice cold, tasty morsel in the blink of an eye!
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You are completely right on this. that the ideas of buying an energy star refrigerator is a great one. Just think of it, your refrigerator tends to work almost all day long for you should it be able to relax for a bit. Also, the water jugs are really a great way to keep the air in your fridge at a constant temperature for every day as well as to keep the temperature the same when you open it up.