Use these fridge energy efficiency tips to save even more on your power bill

Now that you have gotten rid of your spare fridge or freezer and are now saving a cool $300 per year (and if you haven’t click here), there are a few simple steps to keep your fridge running efficiently.

1. Give your fridge room to breathe. Make sure there is at least a 10cm gap around your fridge. Good ventilation and air-flow allows the hot air, created by the cooling process, to escape. If there is not enough space around the fridge it has to work harder to stay cool and uses more energy.

2. Watch that frost. Frost buildup makes your fridge work harder. So if the frost in your freezer exceeds half a centimeter, it’s time to defrost.

3. Follow the two thirds rule. Whenever you open your fridge cool air escapes and warm air comes in, and your fridge has to work hard to replace lost cold air. But when you keep your fridge two thirds, full only a third of that air can leak out, so the more full your fridge is the less air that can escape.

4. Use water bottles as a buffer. If your fridge is a bit empty fill up a few bottles with cold water and pop them in your fridge. You’ll love lovely cold water to drink and the bottles will take up some buffer room and make it more efficient.

5. Cover liquids. Uncovered liquids in your fridge will add moisture to the air, which makes your compressor work harder. It will also cause more frost to build up which in turn makes your compressor work even harder. That’s not a cycle you want to start.

6. Clean your coils twice a year. Condenser coils keeps the air in your fridge cold, and they’re usually found on the back or bottom of the fridge. Over time dust and other gunk builds up around the coils restricting airflow which makes the fridge work harder to stay cool. By cleaning your coils twice a year you reduce your fridge’s electricity use by 15%.

It’s relatively easy to clean the coils. Just pull out the fridge and using a wire brush (or something similar) and scrape the coils to knock the dust loose. Then take a vacuum to suck up the rest of the dust. Simple as that!

7. Don’t mindlessly stare into your fridge. Opening and closing your fridge door is the biggest way it uses energy. You can save nearly half of your fridges total energy usage just by being very quick when opening and closing the door. So get out of the habit of staring into your fridge, be smart and close it quickly.

8. Get a new seal. If your fridge is a few years old the seal might be wearing out meaning it has to work harder than necessary. But, there’s an easy way to test this. Simply close a piece of paper in your fridge door, and if it is quite easy to pull it out it’s time for a new seal.

9. How many stars do you have? When you’re getting a new fridge pay attention to the energy rating and choose a fridge above 2.5 stars. It might not seem like much but every extra star will reduce your running costs by around 20% which makes a huge difference in the long-run.

10. Let your food chill first. When putting leftovers back in the fridge let them cool down first. Putting hot food into your cold fridge makes It may seem obvious but no one does it.

11. Don’t set your fridge too cold. The colder you set your fridge the more energy and money it uses to stay so cold. We recommend setting the fridge to 3-5^oC and the freezer to -15 to -18^oC.

12. Location, location, location. Make sure your fridge is located in an area away from direct sunlight and away from cookers, heaters and dishwashers.

Well there we have it, 12 quick tips to save power and money. Do you have any sneaky tips you use to save energy? Let us know by writing a comment below 🙂