Tips for Making Your Refrigerator Run Efficiently
No matter how old or new your appliances are there are ways to ensure they are running efficiently. And efficiency = cost savings.
- Clean under and behind. Pull your refrigerator away from the wall as dust and dirt collect behind your refrigerator, especially if you have pets. Condenser coils in the back collect this debri so when you clean them off you are reducing resistance, making it run for a shorter amount of time.
- Maintain your plastic door seal. By placing a piece of paper next to a closed refrigerator door you will be able to determine if your seal is losing air. If it flutters you are losing energy. The good news is if you need a new rubber or plastic door seal, it is a low cost fix that will save you money while also increasing the lifetime of the refrigerator.
- Cover your food. Most stored foods contain moisture, especially leftovers. By covering your foods you are not letting the moisture into the air, which means your compressor in the refrigerator doesn’t have to work as hard.
- Let leftovers cool before putting them away. Even if your foods are covered, it is important to let them cool down before placing them in your refrigerator. Otherwise your refrigerator will have to work overtime to get them to the right temperature.
- Add liquid containers to help cool things down. You can use juice boxes and water bottles or any beverage to keep your fridge cold when you have empty space. It not only means you are stocked up in case of an emergency, you are also saving energy and money.
Extra tip regarding dishwashers:
Run them at night to lower energy costs. The peak times households run their dishwashers is after breakfast, lunch and dinner, which uses the most amount of energy. If you have a night owl in your home, have them set it at midnight. It may just be a few dollar savings but over the course of the month you will find you are saving money.
I didn’t know that it was more expensive to run the dishwasher at night. It makes more sense to let leftovers cool down before putting them in the refrigerator. That’s helpful.
Wow! Any idea how much money these simple tricks can save?
That’s amazing that keeping bottles of water in your fridge can actually conserve energy! I had no idea
The tip about the dishwasher is so helpful. I’m sure with 5 people in my household and how often we run it, we could definitely save a few bucks running it during non-peak times.
I agree about the dishwasher tip. I happen to be the night owl in my house, and I usually do run it at night to have clean dishes in the A.M. So I’m glad that Ive been saving money!
I did not know your refrigerator works harder when you place hot foods in them. That is interesting to know as I have a habit of doing that. Thanks!
All of your tips are so interesting! I did not know that all of these things could affect how a refrigerator runs! In the tip in which you say to keep
This is an awesome list of easy tricks!
Excellent article, especially around the holiday season! I had no clue all of these aspects have a part in keeping (or restricting) a refrigerator running smoothly. This could save a pretty penny, too!