Cut Your Refrigerator Energy Usage And Costs

If you implement the energy saving tips for refrigerators below, and then move on to implement the tips also for fans and chillers, you will improve your home's energy efficiency. After that, head on to learn more about how you can reduce the energy consumption and costs in your home.

How To Reduce Your Refrigerator Energy Usage

• Keep your refrigerator doors closed! Don't hold the door open looking to see what's inside or trying to decide what you want to eat. Every time you open the refrigerator door you lose 30% of the already chilled air inside the refrigerator. Make up your mind first.


• Keep a list of contents on the front of the refrigerator to help you remember what's in there. An erasable board is great. That way when something is gone you strike it off the list.


• Keep doors open in all rooms cooled by a central air conditioning system.


• Keep freezers fully stocked. A fully stocked freezer is significantly more energy efficient than an empty freezer. If you don't have enough food, fill it with newspaper, ice trays, cold paks etc.


• Defrost freezers at regular intervals. The build up of frost and ice decreases the efficiency of the freezer and increases its energy consumption.


• If possible place the refrigerators and freezers away from direct sunlight, stoves/ovens or other heat sources.


• Make certain the freezer temperature is correct. If you set it lower than needed (even 1 degree) you can raise your operating costs by 2-4%.


• Make sure your refrigerator has sufficient air flow around it so that the condenser doesn't overheat.

Energy Savings Tips For Fans

Here are some tips for how to optimize cooling using fans:

• Use ceiling fans in homes to circulate the air in the summer and to move warm air down from the ceiling in the winter. Note: Many ceiling fans can be operated in reverse in the winter to push warm air down from the ceiling to the occupied spaces.


• For restrooms that exhaust constantly, disable the air supply and let the space be conditioned by return air drawn in by the exhaust fan.


• Interlock restroom exhaust fans with the lights and control the lights with an occupancy sensor/switch combination so they operate only when the room is in use.


• Operate kitchen exhaust hoods only when the cooking surfaces are actually in use.


• Purchase vent hoods that introduce a percentage of air as untreated outside air instead of exhausting 100% of conditioned air from the space.


• Install a thermostat to control the attic fan so that it operates only when the temperature is ten or more degrees above ambient.


• Turn off kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing to retain heated air.


• Check auto fan belts regularly and change them when they become cracked, worn or oil soaked.

Energy Savings Tips For Chillers

By implementing these tips, you will get definately improve your refrigerator energy usage as well as energy usage for fans and chillers.

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