20 tips to reduce the cost of using the refrigerator

Did you know that the biggest user of electric power in your home is probably your refrigerator? Let's see what you can do to reduce your electricity bills.

The refrigerator is one of the few appliances in our house that work all the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Almost all of us use it, but often we don't realize that the refrigerator is the biggest consumer of electricity. The good thing is that the amount of electricity consumed by our refrigerator can be reduced with proper use.

In this article I present some tips that will help you reduce your electricity bill.

How to use the refrigerator in an effective way?

The refrigerator is responsible for generating about 25% to 30% of annual energy costs, and in some homes it can be even more than 50% of energy costs.

First of all a big impact here, it has the energy efficiency class of your fridge. Classes are from G to currently the best A +++. The higher the energy efficiency class, the energy consumption will be lower. But it is normal for the refrigerator with better class to cost more money.

However, no matter what type of refrigerator you have, there are some rules that are capable of reducing the cost of using your refrigerator. In my case, with a large refrigerator and a large freezer, with the optimal use of them.

Here I have collected 20 tips and divided them into two groups:

First group refers to the optimal use of the refrigerator,

Second group refers to the things we can consider before buying a refrigerator.

Recommendations to optimize the use of the refrigerator:

1.Place the proper temperature in the refrigerator - do not cool the products more than necessary, because you will not increase the durability of your products, you only use more energy:

A.     The temperature of the refrigerator should be set at 5 ° C - the higher the temperature, the less energy consumption. It is generally assumed that the optimum temperature inside the refrigerator should be 4-5 degrees. This is important because reducing the temperature by 1 degree increases the energy consumption of the refrigerator up to a small percentage.

B.      The freezer temperature should be set at -18 ° C - this is the optimum temperature for storing food in the freezer.

2.Never put hot food in the refrigerator - wait for the food to cool on its own, so the refrigerator will not have to consume energy to do so. When you put the hot food inside, it could take 2 to 3 times more energy to cool it.

3.Always place the products in the refrigerator in the same places - in this way you will use less time in your search and less cold will escape from the refrigerator when you open the door.

4.Decide what you want to take from the refrigerator before opening it - don't stand in front of the refrigerator with the door open thinking about what you want to eat. Keep the refrigerator doors closed as long as possible.

5.Take the products from the refrigerator for a short time - if you take any product out of the refrigerator and then want to put it back, try to do it as soon as possible, before this product heats up.

6.Wrap the food you put in the refrigerator well - the water in the products increases the humidity inside the refrigerator, which makes the cooling air greater, costing you more money. Also, cut the inedible leaves of fruits and vegetables before putting them in the refrigerator. These leaves also contain a good amount of water.

7.Wrap the products in the freezer well - this helps reduce ice deposition. Too much ice makes it difficult to maintain a low temperature in the freezer.

8.Keep your freezer full - the freezer works more efficiently when it is full and if there is not much air inside. That is why it is better to pack the products as close as possible inside the freezer.

9.Do not saturate your refrigerator - unlike the freezer, the refrigerator should not be completely full, as it works more efficiently when there is some air around the food. But it is also not a good idea to keep the refrigerator "empty", because cold air escapes quickly every time the door is opened. Find an intermediate.

10.Defrost food in the refrigerator - It will take them a little longer to defrost, but it will help to cool the refrigerator and thus reduce energy use. It's worth doing if you can plan ahead and have enough time to defrost the food.

11.Defrost the freezer regularly - it is important because the accumulation of ice greatly increases the amount of energy needed to keep the engine running. You should do it before the ice is 0.5 cm (the energy consumption due to the accumulation of 0.5 cm ice is 30% higher than without the ice).

12.Test the refrigerator door seals - for example, at night you can put a lighted lamp inside and when you close the door check if the light is visible from outside the refrigerator. If the seals are destroyed, more heat enters the interior of the refrigerator.

13.Clean the refrigerator condenser regularly - this way the refrigerator will work more efficiently.

What to do when we buy a refrigerator?

If you are thinking of buying a new refrigerator there are some things you should consider to save your money:

14.Choose a refrigerator with high energy efficiency - the optimal choice is a refrigerator with energy efficiency class A ++. Up to 40% less energy can be consumed than in lower class refrigerators. You can also consider choosing a first-class A +++, but first examine whether the purchase price is not too high in relation to the lower energy consumption (sometimes the refrigerator has to run for more than 10 years, before this investment is returned).

15.Buy a refrigerator with Automatic Humidity Control System - this way you won't have to worry about manually defrosting the refrigerator. As I mentioned before, the thicker the ice sheet, the greater the energy consumption.

16.If you need a lot of space in the refrigerator? Consider buying a large refrigerator - energy is more efficient if we buy a large refrigerator instead of two smaller ones.

17.If you are thinking of buying a refrigerator and freezer, buy both in one  - similar as in the previous case, this way you can save on energy consumption.

18.Don't overdo the size and buy the refrigerator you really need - the best way to buy a good size refrigerator is to adjust it to the number of people living in the house. This will avoid a situation where the refrigerator is empty.

19.Place the refrigerator in a cool place - once you buy a refrigerator, look for the right place, preferably cool. It should be away from the stove, heating, dishwasher and direct sunlight. The temperature reduction around the refrigerator by only 1 degree Celsius is up to 5% less energy consumption. So, it's good to plan it well.

20.Make sure the back of the refrigerator is not too close to the wall  - the air must be free to flow into the refrigerator heat exchanger. It is better to leave a few centimeters of space.

These are all 20 tips that I have prepared for you. I hope you can implement at least some of them, and in this way you will reduce your electricity bill. If you know other ways to make the refrigerator work more efficiently, share them in the comments.

I wish you a good day and great savings