6 Fridge Energy Saving Tips

Are rising energy costs a major concern for you? Are you interested in trying to find out ways to maximize the efficiency of your home appliances? We'd like to share with you some energy-saving tips for your refrigerator, to help cut down on costs, and of course, make a difference for the environment.

How Does a Refrigerator Work?

To help you with energy costs with your refrigerator, one of the first things that you'll want to consider is how a refrigerator works. Basically, how the refrigeration process works is you remove heat from food items and then dissipate that heat into the atmosphere. Keeping that in mind, every time you open the refrigerator door, you introduce more heat into that refrigerator and therefore it must work harder to get rid of it.

Tip # 1: Organize Your Refrigerator for Efficiency

The first tip is to properly organize your refrigerator so that you don't stand with the door open while you're searching for an item. Using labels or see-through containers are a surefire way to minimize the amount of time that you spend looking for things and leaving the refrigerator door open. You should also keep items you use on a regular basis kept on the front of the shelves. Those things that you rarely use should be placed at the back of the fridge. Also, keep in mind that not all food items need to be refrigerated, such as soy sauce. Some fruits and vegetables can be kept in a container on your countertop. Be sure to check the labels on your food to determine whether the items need to be refrigerated.

Tip # 2: Check for Proper Air Flow

Related to the topic of organizing your refrigerator, you'll also want to keep in mind how much you can put in your model of refrigerator. For a refrigerator to work efficiently, it needs to have room for air to flow between the shelves. Air will enter the fresh food compartment on any refrigerator, circulate around and exit back into the evaporator area, which is typically located at the back of the freezer. When you impede the airflow, this causes the refrigerator to work that much harder to maintain a proper temperature. Keep that in mind, it is important that we don't block the air inlet ducts into the fresh food compartment or the return air vents that go back to the freezer. If you find that you need to fill your refrigerator completely, you should look at getting a larger size.

Tip # 3: Cool Items Before Putting Them in the Fridge

Now, along with organizing your refrigerator to minimize door openings, on days that you purchase food items that need to be refrigerated, we suggest that you cool them during the transportation process. Simply putting them in a cooler with a few blocks of ice or adding your frozen foods into a cooler along with your refrigerated foods allows them to stay cool before they get introduced into your refrigerator. Any time you add room-temperature food items to your refrigerator, it has to work that much harder to bring that temperature back down to normal. Also, if you are into pre-cooking meals or saving leftovers, allow those to come down to room temperature before introducing them into the refrigerator.

Tip # 4: Utilize the Features in Your Refrigerator

Utilize the features that are present in your refrigerator. Some models will have an energy saver switch that turns an electric heater on or off. If you are in an area where there is low humidity or during certain parts of the year, there is low humidity, you simply need to turn that switch off. If your refrigerator model has a through-the-door ice and water dispenser, you should also utilize that feature. That prevents opening the door and allowing room air temperature into your freezer or your fresh food compartment. Another energy-saving tip is that if you're going to take some frozen food to thaw out, simply put it in the fresh food compartment and allow it to thaw out there.

Tip #5: Properly Maintain Your Refrigerator

There are also a few maintenance items that you should pay attention to that will help you save money. First, inspect the door gaskets on both the fresh food compartment and the freezer to ensure they're making a nice tight seal. Any time air can leak into that refrigerator, your compressor will run longer to maintain that temperature, so make sure that the gaskets are pliable and in good condition. If there are any tears or deformations to them, they should be replaced.

Tip # 6: Set the Correct Temperature

The last tip on our list is properly setting your refrigerator controls for the fresh food compartment and the freezer. For the fresh food compartment, the optimum temperature is somewhere around two or three degrees Celsius or 37.38 degrees Fahrenheit. Typically, for a freezer, you’ll want -18 degrees Celsius or zero to five degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure your controls are set to maintain those temperatures. To check those temperatures, we suggest that you use an excellent-quality probe-type thermometer. Set a glass of water in your fresh food compartment, allow it to sit there for 12 to 24 hours, and test the temperature to see if you need to make an adjustment. Allow another 24 hours before recording the temperature again. In the freezer, we found the best item to use is ice cream. Simply insert the probe into the ice cream and check the temperature.

We hope that some of these tips will help you save money on your next power bill and save you much more if you continue to follow them! For more videos on appliance repair, maintenance, and cleaning tips, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.