Lowering Refrigerator Energy Usage to Save Money

When discussing ways to be more conservative in home energy usage, the refrigerator usually does not make the list. In many households, the refrigerator is just that big box that sits in the kitchen full of food. Refrigerators are large electrical appliances that run a great deal over the course of a week or a month. The reality is that they require a pile of energy to drive the compressor and frost free fans that keep your food and other items at a safe temperature.

Begin conserving energy by placing your refrigerator in a location that is not in direct sunlight. By keeping the sun off of your box, it will keep it from getting extra warmth that must be offset by more energy to keep your food fresh. Similarly, position your refrigerator away from heat vents and your stove. Both of these will create more heat to battle.

Electric motors and radiators both work better when they are clean. This makes the motor run cooler and more efficiently with less internal friction. Radiators do a better job when air can flow over them freely. Your refrigerator has both of these items. So, keeping them as clean as possible will reduce the amount of energy that your refrigerator needs to do its job.

Every time that the door of the fridge is opened, some of the cool air escapes. If your home operates in a way to allow it, set times that the refrigerator is not to be opened. This will help a lot if you have family members that like to just stand and stare into the refrigerator. If you have an upright freezer attached to the refrigerator, try to remove everything that you might need for the next several hours with only opening the door once. These two efforts can reduce your energy loss by a quarter or more.

Unless you have to, do not put hot or warm items into the box until they have cooled to room temperature. Make sure that foods that spoil easily are well-covered before letting them cool. This will increase their shelf life inside the refrigerator.

Items like milk that make the journey in and out of the refrigerator need to be replaced before they can warm up. This makes them last longer, and your refrigerator needs less energy to re-cool them.

Put a thermometer into your refrigerator. This will let you check the precise temperature that you are keeping your food. Check it near the top and near the bottom to get a good idea of how cold it is. If it is more than 40 degrees, you may need to lower your settings a little. If it is less than 35 degrees, you can raise the temperature a little. Keeping the right setting will keep your food better and conserve as much energy as possible.

Keeping your freezer and refrigerator at least one half full will save in the long run. This is true because the cold or frozen food will give extra cooling power to keep the interior cold when the door is opened and closed. Do not leave spoiled food inside the refrigerator. The health hazard caused by the things that grow on spoiled food will outweigh any energy savings.