Freezers and Refrigerators are one of the most common appliances in most modern homes. Sadly, because it uses an electric motor to operate, it is also one of the biggest energy consumer in our homes. And due to the fact that it is often plugged in and running 24/7 for most of the time, it is probably the single most costly appliance in terms of energy consumption in a typical household. So if we want to save on our electrical bill, the Refrigerator and Freezer is one of the best place to start.
One of the best ways to consider is buying a new Refrigerator. Most of today's manufactured Refrigerators are made with electrical Energy Efficiency in mind. When looking for a new refrigerator to buy, consider this simple refrigerator buying guide:
REFRIGERATOR BUYING GUIDE
1. UsagePersonally, I think this should be the biggest factor one should consider when buying a refrigerator. When I visit some people's houses, I often see that their refrigerators just often have a few contents, like butter, some leftover food, and a few eggs in the egg tray. Most just have bottles of water or half-full bottled juices/sodas. The freezer compartment most of the time is just filled with ice-trays or plastic-bags of ice. Most of these refrigerators are at least 10 cubic feet in size. This is definitely not a CHEAPSKATE way of using a refrigerator.
A great way to save in refrigerator usage to ask yourself if you actually need it. If your refrigerator is often empty or most of the time, the contents are just ice and cold water, you might as well just buy a cold water dispenser and buy some ice at the convenience store every now and then. If there is a convenience store or better yet, a supermarket, which is just a short walking distance from your home, it is better to just buy the things you need from the supermarket than store it in the freezer. This is a great idea specially if you do not do much cooking in the house or you often eat out or often call take-out/delivery foods. If you have a friendly neighbor who has a refrigerator, and all you have to store is a few pieces of meat, you can just ask your neighbor if there is some room left in their fridge to store your items. The setback of these ideas of course is convenience. Not all stores are open 24 hours a day, and I don't think you would consider knocking on your neighbor's door to get your items at the wee hours of the day.
2. Size
If you don't want to go to the store every now and then and would like to have the convenience of storing and getting your food stuffs anytime you want, then you really have to buy a refrigerator. The biggest factor in buying one is the size. Typically, larger refrigerators consume more electricity than smaller ones.
A personal refrigerator will be sufficient for 1 to 3 people or a family of 4. Personal Refrigerators typically range from 4 cubic feet to 6 cubic feet. Typical households usually have 6 cubic feet models. I think that if you don't store a lot of stuff in the refrigerator, it's best to go with the 4 cubic feet model. A two-door 4 cubic-feet refrigerator might be more difficult to find but would be ideal, since it offers more storage at the freezer section, which is what maybe the most usable part of the refrigerator. A single door model of the same size would be good too, as long as the freezer space is large enough. A 4 cubic feet refrigerator would be great for a family of 4, who usually cooks home made dinner. However, if you can find a 6-Cubic feet model with the same freezer capacity and operating cost as 4 cubic feet model, then choose the larger one.
If you do a lot of cooking, you might also consider buying a small freezer. A small chest freezer which has a two-star rating (meaning it's storage temperature can achieve -12 degree Celsius) would be great. A two-star rating means that it can store frozen foods and food items such as meat up to 1 month. If the freezer has ice making capacity, it would be better, but expect it to be a bit more expensive.
For a larger family or for those who need extra storage in the refrigerator, a 16-cubic feet, three-door, top freezer refrigerator would be perfect. Why the huge jump in size? Well, according to the energy star website, the most efficient refrigerators are the 16 - 20 cubic feet models. So if you're going to need a refrigerator larger than 6 cubic feet, get the largest one you can afford, since most refrigerators larger than 6 cubic meters but smaller than 16 cubic meters tend to to have almost the same operating costs. The idea is to get more storage space for your money. Avoid buying single door refrigerators as much as you can, since large doors allow more cold air from the inside of the refrigerator to escape out, decreasing the efficiency of the refrigerator.
3. Features
As with any other item you would buy, the more expensive refrigerators offer more feature. So if you want to have extra features such as water dispenser or ice dispenser, then expect to pay more. Ice and water dispenser models also tend to be less energy efficient. Some newer refrigerators also have moisture control, which is great, since it makes the refrigerator to run more efficiently by lessening moisture condensation on the exterior of the refrigerator. Do not confuse this with "Anti-sweat" feature, which uses a heater, thus consumes more energy.
Manual defrost models use as much as 50% less energy than automatic defrost, but they do tend to need constant monitoring and must be defrosted periodically to really save energy. If you don't defrost you refrigerator when the frost build-up in the freezer is around 1/4 of an inch thick, the motor of the refrigerator would consume more energy, and your manual defrost refrigerator might cost more money to operate than an automatic defrost model. If you don't mind manually defrosting your refrigerator and constantly checking the frost buildup in the freezer, then Manual defrost models would save you a lot of money on purchasing and cost of operation.
Stainless steel exterior refrigerators are more expensive, but they are the most durable, and eye-catching. However, stainless steel exterior refrigerators demand extra maintenance to keep it looking great. Also, look for controls that are appropriately placed, meaning that they are easy to reach and does not block the storage area. Most refrigerators also have humidity controls, which make vegetables and fruits in the produce bin crisper and fresher longer, but they do tend to cost more. A good feature to have and is worth paying for is to have separate controls for the freezer and the refrigerator.
4. Storage
Another thing to consider in buying a refrigerator is storage. Basically, larger refrigerator models provide more storage, and allow you to store big items such as a whole box of pizza and a full gallon of orange juice. But newer models have been beautifully designed to be able to provide you the storage capacity of larger refrigerator models You should look for models that provide ample and flexible storage. Freezers that provide multi-level adjustable storage is a great choice. Also look for refrigerator models whose shelves are sturdy. Adjustable storage units and shelves provide flexibility to accommodate a variety of products to be stored in the refrigerator. Glass dividers are easy to clean, and most of them have anti-spill features.
Some refrigerator models also have extra storage features that cater to specific products such as a wine rack, canned beverage holder, and snack trays. However, most refrigerator models that have these features are often more expensive, and if you don't commonly use these features, it will just become a waste of good storage space - and money.
REFRIGERATOR USAGE GUIDE
Another great way of saving money on using Freezers and Refrigerators is knowing how to use them efficiently. Here is a short list refrigerator usage tips and guides so you can make the most of you refrigerator:
* Place the Refrigerator on the coolest part inside of the house. The cooler the environment, the cooler it is also inside the refrigerator, so the refrigerator’s motor runs less.
* It is a good idea to leave a space between the wall and the refrigerator or freezer. This allows air to circulate around the refrigerator’s condenser coils, which decreases moisture condensation. You should also keep the condenser coils clean.
* If you're going to place leftover food in the refrigerator, allow them to cool down to room temperature before putting them in the refrigerator to avoid heat spread inside. Cover the foods you will put inside too, since evaporation from the food can also decrease the efficiency of the refrigerator.
* Fill the Freezer as much as possible, so as to get the most out of the coldness of the freezer and stabilize the temperature. However, refrigerator should not be filled to capacity, so as to allow the cold air to circulate and distribute properly among the contents of the refrigerator.
* The door seals should be airtight, so not to let the cold air escaping out.
* Refrain from or at least minimize placing items in the top of the refrigerator to allow good air circulation for the compressor.
* Regulate the temperature of your refrigerator. If you have separate temperature controls for your freezer and your refrigerator, keep the freezer temperature as close to 0 degrees Celsius as much as possible and keep the refrigerator temperature at 10 degrees Celsius. If you're temperature control can only be controlled via numbers or levels or you only have 1 temperature control for both the freezer and the refrigerator, a neat trick to know the temperature is to use an appliance thermometer. You can place the thermometer in a glass and put it in the refrigerator, and for the freezer, place the thermometer on top of some frozen food items. You can then adjust the temperature control accordingly. After 24 hours, you can take out the thermometer and read the temperature. Keep on adjusting the temperature control until you achieve the target temperature. Remember though that to keep frozen food items in the freezer fresh for a week you need at least -6 degrees Celsius and -12 degrees Celsius for 1 month.
* Avoid frequent closing and opening of the refrigerator doors to avoid cold air escaping out, and the light inside the refrigerator turning on.
