Energy Saving Fridges, Energy Saving Freezers

By: EconomyWatch   Date: 30 April 2010

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The humble Refridgerator is responsible for a big chunk of your power bill

An average home may cause twice as much greenhouse gas emissions as an average car, according to energystar.gov. Fridges and freezers are second only to air conditioning as the home appliance that accounts for the highest electricity consumption.

Refrigerators are responsible for 9-25% of the total energy consumed by an average house. A conventional refrigerator usually uses about 1.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day. Compared to this, an energy saving model consumes less than 0.6 kilowatt-hours per day. Considering a refrigerator runs for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it deserves to find a place somewhere at the top of the list of home appliances that need to be replaced in order to curb energy expenses.

Consuming around 900 kilowatt-hours per year, an old fridge or freezer could take up energy bills by as much as $120. To tackle this problem, considerable research has been done to manufacturer a new generation of more energy efficient refrigerators. A refrigerator qualified by Energy Star, jointly managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy, consume about half the energy used by models manufactured before 1993. These refrigerators use highly efficient compressors and have improved insulation and defrost mechanism, enabling them to consume at least 20% less energy than the minimum federal standards.

Since the turn of the century, China made substantial headway in exporting fridges and freezers and the Chinese refrigerator industry became the largest in the world. In-line with market demand, the country initiated the China Refrigerator Project in 1999. This project was initiated by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and achieved a significant improvement in energy-efficient refrigerators.

Countries like the UK, the US and Australia have set up agencies that qualify energy saving products. For instance, the Energy Saving Trust claims that if everyone in the UK replaced their refrigerators and freezers with those certified by the agency, the country would be able to save approximately £500 million.

The following tips can ensure that a refrigerator does not consume more electricity than required:

 

  • Do not leave the refrigerator door open for longer than is necessary.
  • Make sure to close the refrigerator door properly.
  • One large refrigerator is easier on the energy bill than two smaller ones.
  • Purchase refrigerators with automatic moisture control. These models prevent moisture from accumulating on the fridge exterior without the addition of a heater.
  • Set the temperature between 37°F and 40°F for the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator and at 5°F for the freezer section. If the freezer is a separate piece of equipment to be used for long-term storage, set its temperature at 0°F.
  • Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers.

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