This old fridge

I recently had a home energy audit done on my house, which I will be blogging about in installments because it taught me so much! In this first part, let me tell you what an energy hog my old refrigerator is...

It took a bit of detective work to track down the model and serial numbers, but Whirlpool customer service was able to tell me that my fridge was born in 1982 - almost thirty years old. A quick check on the Energy Star "recycle my old fridge" website showed that this appliance uses more than 1800 kWh per year. That's about 42% of the total kWh my entire house uses in a year! If I replaced it with a newer Energy Star model that uses 470 kWh per year, I'd save about $160 a year on electric bills, which means it would pay for itself in about six years.

Other things I learned about refrigerators and energy efficiency from the Energy Star website:

• Position your refrigerator away from a heat source such as an oven, a dishwasher, or direct sunlight from a window.
• To allow air to circulate around the condenser coils, leave a space between the wall or cabinets and the refrigerator or freezer and keep the coils clean.
• Make sure the door seals are airtight.
• Keep your refrigerator between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Minimize the amount of time the refrigerator door is open.
• In most households, the refrigerator consumes more energy than any other kitchen appliance.
  

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