5 Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption by Your Refrigerator
The fridge might be your favourite appliance, after all, it’s where your favourite ice cream is stored. Since the job of this appliance is to serve you 24*7, it’s one of the most hardworking appliances of your house and probably the largest consumer of energy.
Hence, it will be good for both the environment and your pocket, if your refrigerator works efficiently without consuming a lot of energy. With regular professional maintenance and some personal practices, you can ensure that your refrigerator runs for a long time with efficiency and goes easy on the environment.
So here are some tips which can help extend the life of the refrigerator and reduce bills to minimum.
- Close your doors quickly
As obvious as it sounds, people make these mistakes quite often. If the door is opened for a long time, its ambient temperature is lost, and your fridge has to work a lot harder to cool things down. This only means more power consumption and unnecessary hard work for your fridge. So, next time you open your fridge, take a minute beforehand to think about your needs then open your fridge. - Seal the doors (check gaskets)
Now, closing the door quickly might not do the trick if your gasket is not in tip-top condition. Over time, the gasket tends to get warped, hardened or even cracked causing the door to not shut properly. Loose seal of the door will cause cool air to seep out, leading to your refrigerator working harder than it needs to keep insides cool. And hence, a bigger electric bill.
Therefore, it is advisable to periodically check the condition of your gasket, clean it and seek out professional help in case of any damage. - Cleaning the coil is a must
The condenser coils are the metal tubes that can be found at the back of the fridge, which helps in
cooling refrigerant and dispense heat. The coil gets covered in dirt and dusk over the time, leading to less efficient dispensing of heat. In case your coil is not working as it should be, your refrigerator will have to work harder to keep itself cool. Therefore, you should clean coils at regular intervals. You can unplug the refrigerator and clean dust, dirt, hairs etc. off the coil with a brush or vacuum. - Place your refrigerator at the right location
The most overlooked fact about refrigerators is the place where it is kept. Make sure your fridge is in well ventilated area far from heating devices like radiators and over, otherwise your fridge will have to work harder to cool and hence resulting in a spike in your electric bill.
It is also worth noting that the fridge should have enough space all around it. If there is no gap around the fridge, it won’t be able to release heat from its compressor, which will lead to the fridge heating up and working harder than necessary. - Practice proper daily use
There are few good practices to follow to ensure reduced power consumption by your refrigerator like:
– Wait till your food is cooled down before putting it in the fridge
– Avoid overfilling the appliance, ensure proper air circulation.
– You should defrost your food inside the appliance, which will ensure the fridge remains cold
– Do not keep your fridge empty as well, if you have nothing then fill it will water bottles or polystyrene blocks.
– If you are going to be away for a long time, empty the fridge, clean it, unplug it and keep its door open.
With these simple tips in your mind, you can keep your favourite appliance in good shape and extend its life. You can keep on using it for a long time without any further spike in your electric bill.
