How to Save Money with Easy Tips for a More Efficient Refrigerator Freezer
Getting the most from your kitchen freezer translates into greater health, lower power bills and more efficient cooking. It really doesn’t take that much to improve the situation regarding your freezer whereas the benefits can potentially be substantial. Follow as much of the following advice as possible and count on a freezer that actually makes your life better.
A Full Freezer Is More Efficient Than a Sparsely Populated Freezer
Much of the energy that is required to keep your refrigerator running goes directly to keeping the freezer frozen. You are ultimately wasting money by not keeping your freezer as full as possible. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune on frozen food products to keep your freezer running at peak efficiency. Efficiency is all about using the space, not the food itself. If you have a more than half-empty freezer, you can fill up anything from storage bags to old milk cartons with water and place them into the compartment to fill take up as much space as possible, while making sure to leave actual spaces between the items. In actual terms , freezing water in containers is better for freezer efficiency than filling the space with food products because as the water turns into ice it becomes an active agent in the refrigeration process. Keeping your freezer full has the potential to cut dozens of dollars off your power bill over the course of a year.
Mom and Dad were Right About Leaving The Door Open
Original refrigerator design was ridiculously inefficient in choosing to place the freezer compartment at the top. If you have refrigerator with a freezer united located on the bottom of the unit, count your blessings and don’t take this paragraph as seriously as those with freezers on top. Because hot air rises and cold air falls, a freezer at the top of a refrigerator cannot help but use more energy to do the exact same job as a freezer located down below. Obviously, there is no way around this aside from buying a unit or investing in a standalone horizontal freezer. You can reduce the amount of excess energy used by a freezer on top, however. The secret is what you always heard from your parents when you were a kid: don’t leave the door open. The less the door to your freezer remains open, the more efficiently it uses the energy making it run. The effect may be minimal on most occasions but always be aware of those times when the freezer door is left open for extended periods of time. The most effective way to cut down on this problem is label your food containers and commit to a rigidly consistent placement design. In other words, always place your meats in the same place and same order and eventually become able to reach quickly and blindly into the freezer to pull out the exact food you wish to eat.
If It Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Your Refrigerator Out of the Kitchen
The best location for your refrigerator freezer as far as making meal preparation as efficient as possible is the kitchen, obviously. But it may not necessarily be the most efficient location for the quality of your frozen food or your power bill. A freezer should be as far as possible from the nearest heat sources in order to ensure top quality efficiency and food safety. This means keeping your freezer out of direct sunlight. It also means keeping the freezer free from the effects of a nearby furnace, oven, stovetop, water heater, fireplace or, basically, anything that produces heat. The hotter the heat that comes into contact with a freezer, the more likely the food is receiving the full benefit of refrigeration. Look around your kitchen and determine if you can move the unit elsewhere and, if not, is there some other location close by that would not be make meal preparation too much of a hassle.
Avoiding Freezer Burn
The main key to preventing freezer burn and ensuring the best possible tasting food out of the freezer is packing the food appropriately. Freezer burn is the result of chemical reactions caused by air and water making its way into the packaging. Above all else, use practical packing items like heavy plastic freezer bags and heavy-duty aluminum foil. You can improve your chances of avoiding freezer burn when using the right packing materials by taking just a few extra minutes to squeeze every last ounce of air out of the bags that you can. The less air that remains inside freezer bags, the greater the odds you will retrieve the food free from unsightly discoloration.
