My fridge used 2.2 kWH @24 hours - how does that compare?
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maple1
Minister of Fire
Finding 'good things' in stores up here or getting them delivered at reasonable cost can be a different game of wax....
semipro
Minister of Fire
This is what many people are missing when then only use the Kill-a-Watt for a short period. My fridge defrost cycle initiates every 36 hours, and at that time it kicks on 2x250W halogens. That's a big chunk of a kW if it runs for any length.
TE
That is what surprised me with this one. I actually heard it kick into defrost one day with meter on it. Just 175 watts shocked me. Pun intended.
We've had the larger 26 cu ft GE french door refer for a few years now. It has been great. Rated at 479kWh/year. It's too big and heavy for me to want to pull it out and hook up the kill-a-watt to it, but we did note a drop in the electric bill when it replaced the older KitchenAid that was in there.
semipro
Minister of Fire
Related article on development of a more energy efficient fridge.
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/researchers-work-new-refrigerator?utm_source=eletter&utm_medium=eletter&utm_content=gba_eletter&utm_campaign=green-building-advisor-eletter
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/researchers-work-new-refrigerator?utm_source=eletter&utm_medium=eletter&utm_content=gba_eletter&utm_campaign=green-building-advisor-eletter
So, 1 thing I haven't seen anybody mention is refrigerator size. If people want a big refrigerator, that's cool, whatever, but bigger refrigerators use more energy.
I have a late 20s GE Monitor Top in the basement that's 7 cubic feet. I have a 50s Kelvin at or that is probably a 10 or 11 cubic foot model. Somehow people did just fine with these small refrigerators.
Smaller refrigerators is a spot where people could save lots of electricity if they wanted to.
I have a late 20s GE Monitor Top in the basement that's 7 cubic feet. I have a 50s Kelvin at or that is probably a 10 or 11 cubic foot model. Somehow people did just fine with these small refrigerators.
Smaller refrigerators is a spot where people could save lots of electricity if they wanted to.
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
Just bought a kill a watt. Wanted one for years but this thread pushed me over the edge.
I am a bachelor who lives alone so my fridge is not as full as it could be. I've got a few frozen water bottles in the freezer and 2 gallons of water in the fridge to help keep it cold.
I am a bachelor who lives alone so my fridge is not as full as it could be. I've got a few frozen water bottles in the freezer and 2 gallons of water in the fridge to help keep it cold.
Reread the thread. BB has 18 cu ft, we have 26 cu ft. And we have a beer/veggie fridge in the garage. Crazy I know. Wife has enough food in the house to feed an army. But she is a damn good cook, so who am I to complain?
We have a 3.1 cubic foot Energy Star rated fridge, not frost free, that is rated to use $12,16 cents a year less electricity than our 18.1 cubic foot frost free.
Tell me where the economy is on that when you have to eat a ton of electricity cooling the little one back down after letting it defrost. Not to mention the mess and lack of space.
Grisu
Minister of Fire
Putting water jugs in the fridge make it more efficient is a myth: https://mnenergychallenge.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/a-couple-energy-saving-myths/ What you save is the air that does not "fall out" the fridge when you open the door and therefore does not need to be cooled down again. On the other hand, the first time you put the water in the fridge needs a lot of kWh to get that down to 4 C. Instead of full jugs you can use empty ones. That will still reduce the amount of air in the fridge that needs to be cooled without the loss of the first cool down. However, opening the fridge just one or two times less per day may easily give you the same energy savings.
drz1050
Minister of Fire
Thermal mass. Water has a lot more of that than air does. A full freezer/ fridge will lose MUCH less of its temp upon the door openings and closings that the article refers to. A water bottle or two won't make much of a difference, no. A full fridge vs an empty one? There's a big difference there.
More thermal mass = less compressor cycles. Less cycles = less power used. It's really that simple.
More thermal mass = less compressor cycles. Less cycles = less power used. It's really that simple.
Grisu
Minister of Fire
The larger thermal mass of the water certainly matters when the power goes out. Then it will "absorb" the heat going into the fridge and maintain cold temperature for longer. However, it does that on the expense of the energy that needed to be extracted when the water was put into the fridge to begin with.
A full fridge loses the same amount of energy to the outside than an empty one. That heat loss depends on the insulation of the fridge and the temp differential; not the thermal mass. It will take longer for the compressor to turn on in a full fridge, but also longer to turn off again as the thermal mass it has to cool down is larger. The energy that has been lost to the room will need to be made up regardless and that is independent of the mass. You may have tiny gains through the compressor cycling less often but the amount will be so minimal you will hardly notice it.
http://physics.stackexchange.com/qu...quire-more-power-to-stay-cold-than-a-full-one
http://www.sciencechatforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=262091
semipro
Minister of Fire
The compressor cycles would be longer though because of the additional thermal mass.
Kind of like the soapstone versus steel stove debate. .
So I finally found a much newer fridge (made in 2009) on craigslist... for $100 
Before swapping it out, I tested the old fridge (1990) with a kill-a-watt at 7.76kwh in 47.5 hours.
The new fridge used 3.3kwh in 48 hours.
Then I sold the old fridge on CL for $100, and got another $20 to deliver it
Before swapping it out, I tested the old fridge (1990) with a kill-a-watt at 7.76kwh in 47.5 hours.
The new fridge used 3.3kwh in 48 hours.
Then I sold the old fridge on CL for $100, and got another $20 to deliver it
semipro
Minister of Fire
And if you needed to cool down the house you could just leave the fridge door open.
jharkin
Minister of Fire
That consumption doesn't sound bad at all for a 17 year old - especially if its one of these monstrously large fridges everyone seems to have nowadays.
Ours is about 5 years old, a plan old 30inch wide french door LG. I dont know the capacity but it cant be much more than 22 or 24cu ft. I clocked it at just about 2kWh/day.
Ours is about 5 years old, a plan old 30inch wide french door LG. I dont know the capacity but it cant be much more than 22 or 24cu ft. I clocked it at just about 2kWh/day.
Finally ordered a new fridge to replace my 1982 GE fridge. My Killawatt was showing it using around 3-4 kwh a day on average. Since the weather has been warmer its been using even more than that. I pay about .25kwh total cost here in CT. So its basically costing $1-$1.50 a day/over$30+ a month to run it. New fridge says its uses 400 kwh a year or a little over 1 kwh a day so the payback should be quite quick.
Quite impressive though on the old one running for 33 years. New fridge should cost around $7-8 a month compared to $30+ with the old one.
Quite impressive though on the old one running for 33 years. New fridge should cost around $7-8 a month compared to $30+ with the old one.
Seasoned Oak
Minister of Fire
26 cu ft side by side, a year old. 1.3 Kw/day
left the kill-a-watt on for a week.
I like ice and ice water on the door.
18 cu ft freezer only upright 1 Kw/day
no defrost. we freeze a lot of veggies and fruit
left the kill-a-watt on for a week.
I like ice and ice water on the door.
18 cu ft freezer only upright 1 Kw/day
no defrost. we freeze a lot of veggies and fruit
That makes for very useful data. Thanks.
Are both of these in conditioned spaces or is the freezer in a garage? If so, what have typical temps been in there?
The fridge is in the kitchen above the wood stove so it is about the warmest room in the Winter. 72-74ºF ave.
The freezer is in the basement about 18 feet from the wood stove. Moving it to the other end of the basement is on my to do list.
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