Refridgerator energy saving ?

[()relics]

Now I'm not the smartest person around BUT I do Question alot of my everyday practices to try and improve/conserve...So lately, since it has gotten really cold, I have been putting milk jugs full of water out on the back step to freeze them. Once they freeze; I put them into my refridgerator to help cool it off without the compressor running and thus using more electric, Strictly my theory...Now the question: Am I right? Or Does this actually DO NOTHING? and if it does, in fact, ease the cooling load on the refridgerator WHY doesn't everyone do it? Or maybe everyone does..

 

[freemotion]

That is a very interesting idea! Of course, there is never room for jugs of ice in my fridge.....it is always stuffed, and I end up sorting through to see what I can eat, serve, or feed to the dogs or chickens to make more room!

 

[miss_thenorth]

I ditto the not having enough room in my fridges to put jugs., But, in my mind, it would make sense, since the reason the fridge comes on is to keep it a cool temp. If frozen water is in there, the jugs would essentially be keeping the temp cooler.

Along this theory, we have our 4 freezers and extra fridge outside in the garage. My theory with this thinking is --it is cold enough for 6-8 months of the year to make it not run hardly at all, and for 5 months it is freezing so it should only really use alot of energy in the summer months. Yes? aand the garage doesn't really get much hotter than the house in the summer unless we use the air conditioning.

 

[chickenjoe]

I believe a full fridge uses less energy because the objects in the fridge will help the fridge stay cool. so puting frozen water jugs would help keep the fridge cool. . Another advantage of keeping the frozen jugs if the power goes out it would keep the fridge/freezer cold.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Actually, I read somewhere that fridges work more efficiently when there is room for the air to circulate, whereas freezers are more efficient when full.

 

[()relics]

My owners manual says the same thing...Leave room for air circulation. I have noticed that if it is too full some areas are very cold, even frozen food, while others not so cold. I have a newer model Whirlpool, 4 years old. So its not that my refridgerator is "worn out".

 

[Farmfresh]

My hubby had a friend who "adapted" his refrigerator by lowering the compressor down through the floor and into his BASEMENT! He believed that keeping the compressor cooler and with extra air flow allowed it to work less and save money. Who knows?

 

[paul wheaton]

A few interesting bits and bobs:

1: circulation is good. And having your fridge full is also good. Strive to have both! Consider, every time you open your fridge, all the could air pours out.

2: there are articles out there on the mighty internet featuring refrigerators made from chest freezers that use ten times less power!

3: root cellars! And there are techniques you can use with a hillside-style root cellar to get it to be even colder than the average annual temp!

 

[xpc]

I do the same and when cold enough outside will freeze 1/2 gallon jugs and place in bottom of back refrigerator just for a cold storage battery when opening the door. The blocks will stay frozen for a week down there, I would not put near the top because that is where the thermostat normally is and don't want to throw it off by having a block of ice next to it. The other reason is that not all refrigerators have a separate cold control for the freezer and if you trick the fridge part into thinking it is cold enough the freezer section can warm up. I use temp indicators in both areas.

As many know I did the chest freezer to refrigerator conversion last year and works great using less than 10% of the energy a conventional refrigerator uses. You still need a separate freezer though, mine is now in storage waiting for the off grid cabin to be completed. Even though it runs on pennies a day (2 cents) it is an inconvenience and best suited for only the most disciplined. I have no plans on having a freezer and if I were connected to the power grid would not bother with the conversion and just have a standard small 12 cu.ft. combo.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Even though it runs on pennies a day (2 cents) it is an inconvenience and best suited for only the most disciplined.

Please explain . . . is that because it is harder to get food out of? I think I would probably like it . . . I would probably be able to get a better survey of what is in the fridge than I can now . . . some stuff just gets pushed to the back of our current fridge, and it can take some time to find it. :/