How to Reduce Your Refrigerator's Energy Consumption

Believe it or not old refrigerators can be made to operate more efficiently if they aren't already. There are a few maintenance tips that can be done quite easily and improve the efficiency of a refrigerator. A few of these tips are as follows:

•Encourage air flow around the condenser under the fridge by periodically cleaning dust away with a brush. This extends the life of the fridge compressor which is the most expensive part of a fridge. "A refrigerator with a clean condenser coil will release heat more efficiently, operate with less strain on the mechanical parts, and draw less current. Essentially, your appliance will do a better job for less money." (www.motherearthnews.com)

•Maintain the seal around the fridge door. This seal is called the gasket. If air can freely flow through the gasket the fridge is not sealed properly and energy can be lost making the fridge less efficient.

•A refrigerator temperature of 37 degrees Fahrenheit and a freezer temperature of 3 degrees is believed to be ideal and economical. At these temperatures the fridge can still operate effectively and be more efficient on energy consumption than if set at higher temperatures.

•If the refrigerator one is using always has a lot of empty space it might be too big for your needs. In this case, It may be possible to exchange it for a more efficient and less expensive fridge to operate.

•Employ a fridge timer to prevent excess and redundant use of electricity. A timer may already be built into the fridge but if it doesn't the additional expense may be worth it.

•Removing fridge lights can also have an influence on the fridges energy consumption and these lights may be redundant if there is plenty of light in the room to see in the fridge.