Most of us have the habit of opening the refrigerator and freezer doors frequently to binge on snacks and to be emotionally satisfied with the fact that food is within our hand’s reach. But do you know that this habit of yours is costing you your utility bills?
Every time you open the freezer, the cold air is escaping from the unit and warm air replaces its space. And thus a major part of the energy in the freezer is spent on cooling down the air that comes in the freezer freshly when you open the door.
But we cannot resist our impulse to open the freezer door quite frequently, especially when it has something deliciously cold inside. So the alternative is to pack the freezer smartly so then there will be less room for the warmer air to take up, even when the door is opened frequently. One cool hack is to fill the freezer fully, to make little room for fresh warm air to sneak in.
How packing your freezer tightly helps?
If you ever visit a grocery store, try to have a sneak peek at the commercial freezer. You will be surprised to see that every single crack and crevice of the freezer is stuffed with bags of frozen things, or at least with loose ice. The ultimate reason behind this messy packing culture is to attain energy efficiency.
This has been the secret of grocery stores for ages, and their concept of cold maintains food cold can be carried forward for home refrigerators and freezers as well. The freezer is capable of producing its cold temperature and by keeping the frozen items in the refrigerator tightly packed, it is possible to reduce the workload of the freezer and thus save on energy bills.
Should you be packing the refrigerator also fully?
The refrigerator works at its peak when the interiors of the unit maintain a uniform temperature and also maintain temperature. But it is not possible to have a refrigerator full of groceries all the time. In such instances, you can pack the refrigerator with non-food items such as jars of water inside, to maintain the cold temperature and maintain a significant energy balance.
Stocking up the fridge also will take very few trips to the grocery store and will help you to save on fuel as well. While on a grocery trip, ensure to stock up on groceries for at least two weeks to save on gas and to stuff the freezer more efficiently. This way, you can make sure that stocking up the fridge is not just energy-efficient, but also promises many days of delicious meals.
Not enough food to pack your freezer?
Most of us dream of a freezer full of cold desserts, cakes, frozen meat, and other stuff. But most of the time, we open up to empty freezer walls. What if you don’t have enough food items to pack your freezer full? You can try other handy non-food items to pack the space in the freezer, to ensure that it turns energy-efficient.
- Pack your freezer with newspaper: Move the food items that you will use more frequently towards the outer and front portion of the freezer and stuff the interiors of the refrigerator with newspaper, to make it tightly packed.
- Bags used for shipping peanuts: These bags are capable of consuming a lot of room in the freezer and one good advantage of these bags is that they can mold to any shape to fit in the available space.
- Use zip lock bags with water: choose the sizes of the bag depending on the capacity of the refrigerator. This trick will not only help in conserving space in the freezer but will also render ice on hand, that you can use to make crushed ice or chill your food. Also, the ice inside these pouches will melt slowly and can be of great help in keeping your food cold, if there is a power loss.
- Rescuable plastic containers: You can fill these containers with water and tug them in the small gaps of the freezer, in-between your stocks. They can also be easily removed if required, and are thus quite convenient to use.
Some working tips to enhance the efficiency of your refrigerator
While considering the energy efficiency of the freezer, make sure that you are packing it appropriately in a way that you can find and remove the food items easily. Just because the freezer has to be tightly packed to save energy, it doesn’t mean it has to be stuffed and packed incoherently. Some tips to keep in mind while packing the refrigerator are,
- Defrost the freezer regularly and dry it, to reduce energy usage.
- Clean the coils at least once a year to enhance the efficiency of the refrigerator by at least 30%.
- Move all the food items that you would require frequently to the front and the sides. This allows you to grab them quickly when you need them.
- Fill the interior central cavity of the freezer with the non-food items of your choice.
- Be sure to leave ample air space around the edges and the top of the freezer, to allow the thermostat to sense the interior temperature of the freezer and cool it accordingly.
- Give a few inches of space between the wall and the refrigerator to maintain proper air circulation. This will also increase the efficiency of the appliance.
Bottom Line
Freezers work best when they are full as they spend most of their energy cooling down the warm air that enters the refrigerator every time you open it. As we cannot resist our temptation to open the freezer door frequently, the wiser idea would be to pack the freezer tightly. So, even when you happen to open the doors frequently, only a little air enters the freezer for cooling. The best option is to start filling the refrigerator freezer to the brim, if possible with food items, or else with non-food items as discussed above.
