Robin Green

Is your current refrigerator running efficiently? Tips on saving electricity in your kitchen

Most people let their fridge run and never bother to check whether it's running efficiently. Use these tips to check whether your unit is wasting energy or is running at peak efficiency.

Unless your refrigerator is so outdated or worn out that you've already chosen to replace it with an energy saving fridge, it's a good idea to do an easy analysis to see if the fridge is running efficiently. Things such as how often and for how long the motor runs, whether there's frost build-up in the freezer compartment, how good your gasket seals are, and the temperature range of the freezer and fridge sections, can all impact your refrigerator electricity efficiency.

Begin by just noticing how often you hear the compressor motor churning. Does it seem to be running constantly, or is the refrigerator usually quiet? Does the motor appear to keep switching on and off (short bursts of running time followed by short periods off)? When the refrigerator door stays shut (for example between meals), the behavior of electricity use for properly working refrigerators is typically that of short periods with the compressor motor on, followed by much longer periods of the motor resting. If that's how your fridge operates, you're in good shape.

If the motor is on continuously, there may be problems with the door gaskets, or cobwebs on the coils, or the fridge may be in a closed-in space so that the heat the compressor motor is working to extract from the interior has no place to escape to. You may just have an old refrigerator with an inefficient motor, which translates into less heat extracted for a given electricity input, or you may have substandard insulation, so that more heat flows in through the fridge sides. Or you could have set the thermostat too low in either the refrigerator or the freezer section.

Next look for frost in the freezer section. Fast or heavy frost build-up in a manual-defrost freezer is usually a sign that warm, moist air is getting into the freezer section. You may have a leaky seal on the freezer door, which allows cold air to leak out through the seal, and warm, humid air to take its place. It takes more electricity to extract heat from moist air than from dry air, so you save on two fronts by minimizing air leaks. Even if you have a good seal, you should defrost a manual-defrost freezer frequently. You should never let more than a quarter inch of frost form on the freezer walls, as the frost makes the motor use more electricity.

Check your fridge and freezer compartment gaskets to make sure you have a good seal. The standard test is the dollar-bill check. Open the fridge or freezer door so that you can slide a dollar bill halfway in, then shut the door. If the bill stays tightly in place, you have a good seal in that part of the gasket. Do the same at several other points along the door seal. If at any point the bill comes out, or moves freely, try sliding the bill along the seal up and down until it sticks. That should give you a feeling for how big each leak might be.

You can sometimes solve gasket leaks by wiping down the gasket to take off any bits of residue that could be preventing a good seal. But if there are gaps and the gasket is clean, you really need to replace the seal.

Your fridge may pass the dollar bill test even though the gasket is letting in air - if the gasket is torn. Cracks can open up in the thin part of the gasket where it is attached to the door. So run your finger along the gasket and check for breaks, all the way around each door.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, gaskets can be fairly inexpensive to replace. I bought a replacement gasket for my fridge five years ago and without prior experience had it installed within a half hour. An appliance repair person can put one on even quicker, especially if you tell them to bring a replacement gasket with them when you call them. So if your gasket is leaking or too rigid to provide a good seal, replace it.

What are the proper temperature settings for your fridge and freezer sections?

The last thing to check in your do-it-yourself refrigerator check-up is the average temperature inside both compartments of your fridge. You can use either a simple glass thermometer or an electronic probe thermometer to check temperatures. Put the thermometer (or the probe portion, for an electronic thermometer) in a jar half-filled with water (a pickle jar works well), and leave it in the compartment for a full 24 hours. (Make sure the jar is only half full for the freezer compartment, so the freezing doesn't break the jar. Don't open the unit for at least an hour before you do your 24-hour measurement. Note the temperature on the thermometer. For the fridge section, you should strive for 39F or 40F (or 4C). For the freezer section, go for 5F (or -15C). If the refrigerator or freezer temperature is lower than this, you are wasting energy cooling your food more than necessary.

Remember that for chest or full upright freezers, where frozen food is usually kept longer than in the freezer compartment of fridges, you want a slightly lower freezer temperature of 0F or -17C.

If the temperature is not at the proper setting, adjust the thermostat in the appropriate section upwards or downwards by just a small amount. Then wait another 24 hours and do another reading. It's best to adjust a bit at a time, until you achieve the ideal refrigerator temperature. Once you get to the correct setting, you can use a permanent marker to mark the dial, so you have a reference point. There's no guarantee that this will always give you the ideal temperature (thermostats can be finicky) but if you later notice that the line is far from its original position, you'll know to measure the temperature once more.

It's important to measure your fridge temperature (both compartments) on a monthly basis, or at the very least, if you have already measured and have marked the position of the dial, to see that the dial hasn't moved. It's easy for these dials to get turned accidentally, or on purpose by little hands, and if the temperature moves far from the proper settings of 40F for the fridge compartment or 5F for the freezer section, you either risk food spoilage or a higher electricity bill.

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