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General: How much energy do fridges use?

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    • CommentAuthordelboy
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2009
     
    Does anyone know how to calculate a fridge's energy use?

    For example, my fridge says on the label that its peak load is 150W. That surely doesn't mean that it uses 3.6kwh/day, or 1.314MWh/year, or on my 14p leccy tariff, £184/year to run, does it?

    Same question for freezers if anyone knows.

    Cheers
    • CommentAuthorbrig001
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2009
     
    If it is a current model, try the normal electrical retailers like: http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/391247/BEKO-CDA563FS?cm_sp=FeatureEnd-_-Fridge_Freezers-_-position1

    Apart from that, the best bet would be to measure it.
  3.  
    Not an expert but I figure the big load is only when the thermostat clicks in... so depends on how stocked the fridge is, the temp, how often door is open, the temperature setting and ambient temperature...

    So spose that leaves you with a meter thingy...
    • CommentAuthorDaveOxford
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2009
     
    Fridges and freezers are real energy hogs because although they do not have particularly high peak consumption, they are on for a lot of the time. Obviously more in hot weather, and obviously more if you keep opening them.

    For a pretty accurate estimate of your own fridge's consumption, invest in one of those energy meters (usually between £10 and £20 from, say, Maplin, or Curry's, or Aldi). You plug it into the outlet and then plug your fridge into it. Most have readouts in kWh consumed. The longer you allow it to run, the better estimate you will have of the real cost.

    I was upset to hear a couple of years ago that 'A' is not the top rating for fridges and freezers, it's A++. I imagine that other consumers have been fooled by this too, and have bought A-rated fridges and freezers, confident that they have the most economical ones available.

    D
  5.  
    About 1kWh per day. I have measured it for a Modern Fridge freezer.
    • CommentAuthorrobJH
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2009
     
    For a 1.85m tall fridge freezer, I'd agree with around 1kWh/day...

    'A' rated are FAR from the best today - I own an AEG A++ rated fridgefreezer which uses just 0.45kWh/day. This saves around 25% on our electrical bills...
    • CommentAuthorcontadino
    • CommentTimeMay 30th 2009
     
    My wife was doing some research on fridges a few weeks ago and discovered that fridges are also rated with a maximum temperature (climate class). Many (most) fridges are rated at 25-30 degrees - some specialist ones are 40. With ambient temperatures here between 35 and 40 for most of the summer, it was making a mockery of the energy rating of the fridge (i.e. it was an A+ and the motor was constantly running.)

    Just something to bear in mind. She got the details from Which? website.
    • CommentAuthoraviatrix
    • CommentTimeMay 30th 2009
     
    we have just bought a free standing miele fridge freezer, a+ rated - is supposed to use about 280 kWh per annum.

    Obv where you put it makes a difference too - between units not as good as completely free standing.
  9.  
    Our ten year old fridge freezer (grade C, also 1.85m high) is consuming about 1.4kWh per day, measured. Peak power is about 137W, measured.
    • CommentAuthordelboy
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2009 edited
     
    Thanks for that all, particularly Cloudy Thoughts - a most lucid data presentation unbefitting of your name.

    Can anyone recommend any particular type of electricity data logger? I'd like to attach the logger to a fridge and have it record its power load and energy consumption, ideally so the results can be uploaded direct to Excel. If anyone has alternative methods, I'm also interested.

    Cheers
    • CommentAuthordickster
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2009
     
    Our crappy A rated fridge (prior to new build) feels cold to the touch. Our crappy new gas oven (ditto, old one broke) is too hot to touch when the ovens on (has a 10mm thick blanket of insulation in it).

    Can't help feeling that boxing in these items (safely) in oodles of extra insulation is an obvious move in the right direction.

    Anyone done it yet?
    • CommentAuthormike7
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2009
     
    Fridges built-in under the counter may not have a good air supply to the heat exchanger on the back. If the heat can't get away from there easily, the fridge will have to work harder and cost more to run.

    The mains water pipe runs by the back of my fridge - I'm wondering if a few extra bends in the pipe here would give a suitable supply of coolth and help the fridge do its thing.
  13.  
    Posted By: delboyThanks for that all, particularly Cloudy Thoughts - a most lucid data presentation unbefitting of your name.

    Thanks. I have my moments.

    Posted By: dicksterAnyone done it yet?

    No, but very interested to hear your before and after figures when you do.

    Posted By: mike7The mains water pipe runs by the back of my fridge - I'm wondering if a few extra bends in the pipe here would give a suitable supply of coolth and help the fridge do its thing.

    Not sure how much this would gain, especially when the water's not flowing. Sound a little too much effort for probably not much gain. Better insulation and better air flow sound more like effort better spent. However, I like your thinking.
    • CommentAuthortrule
    • CommentTimeJun 3rd 2009
     
    <blockquote><cite>Posted By: dickster</cite>
    Can't help feeling that boxing in these items (safely) in oodles of extra insulation is an obvious move in the right direction.

    Anyone done it yet?</blockquote>

    There are fridges with extra insulation, particularly for off grid applications (DC models). Needless to say, it works, however retrofitting is not likely to be as effective because you can really only do the sides and top. Its possibly more effective to be sure that the heat exchanger is well ventilated with cool air to aid its operation.

    The hold over time can be a good indication of how well a freezer is insulated, chest freezers are more often the best.
    • CommentAuthorAds
    • CommentTimeJun 4th 2009
     
    Another interesting website -http://reorient.com/coolview/
    • CommentAuthordickster
    • CommentTimeJun 5th 2009
     
    Just had a circular from Hants County Council advising how to save energy/co2. They claim a fridge freezer uses around 1/3rd of total energy usage. Surely shome misstake?
    • CommentAuthorrobJH
    • CommentTimeJun 5th 2009
     
    ...our old fridge used about 20-25% of our usage, so the council flier might be about right - for some people. I should say we have an electric cooker (not my choice!) so if we didn't have that, our old fridge would have used an even higher percentage.
    • CommentAuthorneelpeel
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2009
     
    After reading through this thread I went and stuck a meter on my rickety old freestanding fridge-freezer for a week...
    2.9kWh per day! i.e. about £127 per year!!

    I really hate to throw anything away and always like to eke out every last working hour from a piece of equipment, but have I got to the point where this fridge-freezer should just be chucked and replaced??

    And before anyone asks...there's no obvious broken seals or anything to replace or fix. It's just old!!
    • CommentAuthorludite
    • CommentTimeJun 14th 2009
     
    definately chuck it out. I agree that it's best to get the most out of appliances but not in the case of F Freezers. DON"T sell it on - because someone else will still kill the planet with it. I took a grade c one to recycling the other week and felt virtuous even though it still worked.
    • CommentAuthorRicochet
    • CommentTimeJun 15th 2009
     
    iirc on 'the yellow house ' site it was rec to glue insulation under the heat xchange grid on th back of the fridge ,
    has anyone done this ? is it likely to be effective ?
    • CommentAuthorrobJH
    • CommentTimeJun 15th 2009
     
    I should think extra insulation would certainly be effective - so it would be interesting to see some measurements - anyone tried it? New Fridge/freezers will not only have better insulation, but I would expect them to have altered the thermodynamics of the refrigeration cycle itself to improve efficiency.
    • CommentAuthorcontadino
    • CommentTimeJun 16th 2009
     
    According to my wife's research (which was primarily from information on the Which? website), it is more efficient to have separate fridge and freezer. Fridges are best without an icebox. Bear in mind that I think this was based on manufacturers claimed energy consumption figures.

    This way there is also the benefit that if, say, the freezer breaks, it doesn't mean you have to replace the fridge too.

    So we've just replaced our defunct fridge freezer with a fridge, and we'll buy a chest freezer in the next few weeks.
  23.  
    contadino, I came to quite the opposite conclusion. Combined fridge and freezer mostly beat separate units. For example...

    Fridge:
    WHIRLPOOL ARC1041A Fridge A++, £179.99, 121 litres (4.3cuft), 219kwh/year

    freezer:
    SIEMENS GS12DP22, A+, 120 litres, £369.99, 179kwh/year

    Total = 241 litres, £549.98, 398 kwh/year

    FF:
    Bosch KGV36X10G, A++, 326 litres (11.5cuft), 208 kwh/year, £529.99
    (freezer 100 litres, fridge 226 litres)

    or

    INDESIT BAAN12, A+, 296 litre, 263kwhr/year, £299
    (freezer 113 lires, fridge 183 litres)

    Just one example, and I could not find a A++ freezer and the volumes don't quite add up, but I've done this with other combinations and have yet to find a a pair that beats a combo. I should say I rate the kwhr figure as a little more important than the initial cost.

    Note in this pair the FF beats the Bosch fridge alone on the kwhr figure.
  24.  
    If you want a really efficient fridge you can use a water cooled condenser. This would not suit most people. Air cooled condensers (the bit on the back of the fridge) are most efficent when the room is cooler.

    With water cooled you can lower the condenser temperature considerably. This method is used on boats where sea water is used as the cooling medium. This set up on my boat runs a 100 litres fridge freezer for 1 amp current consumption on 12 volts. The fridge box is insulated using 150mm of polyeurathane foam.

    Alternatively you could buy a 12 volt air cooled kit and build a highly insulated box similar to my boat and still get considerable enrgy efficieny improvements compared to what is availble commercially. You could even run this from solar panels or wind turbine and a battery bank if you wanted to go the whole hog.
    • CommentAuthorneelpeel
    • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009
     
    I think I'm going to chuck out my old F/F and plump for the Indesit BAAN12 that cloudy_thoughts mentions above.

    Can be found online for about £250 so for me it's only a 2 1/2 year payback given the leccy I should save.

    Thanks all!
    • CommentAuthorcontadino
    • CommentTimeJun 19th 2009
     
    Err...it's a given that chest freezers are more efficient than front-opening ones. Maybe I should have been more explicit....

    "According to my wife's research (which was primarily from information on the Which? website), it is more efficient to have separate fridge and chest freezer."

    It certainly worked out that way using the pairing she came up with for us (an AEG fridge, and a Miele 250-ish litre chest freezer, both A+ rated, both suitable for warmer climes.)
  27.  
    Posted By: contadinoErr...it's a given that chest freezers are more efficient than front-opening ones. Maybe I should have been more explicit....

    Sorry, I misunderstood. I'm looking for a new fridge freezer right now and I'd love to find an efficient combination. All I've found so far point be towards combined fridge freezers being the more efficient than a separate fridge + a separate freezer.

    I'm not sure it is a given but would agree is sound much more likely that chest freezers are more efficient. However, with a chest freezer you still need a fridge.

    Posted By: contadino"According to my wife's research (which was primarily from information on the Which? website), it is more efficient to have separate fridge and chest freezer."

    It certainly worked out that way using the pairing she came up with for us (an AEG fridge, and a Miele 250-ish litre chest freezer, both A+ rated, both suitable for warmer climes.)


    I tried that and could not make the figures work for me...

    I have
    Miele A+ 242 litre chest freezer = 237.3 kWh/year
    (could not find a 250 lire product)

    That's still worse than
    Bosch A++ Fridge-freezer = 208 kwh/year

    I think Which carry out useful research, but they tend to focus on value for money and often have a limited range in comparisons. From my also very limited research, and looking solely at efficiencies, not value for money I'm finding combined fridge freezers are mostly more efficient.

    However, I would be very happy to be proven wrong.
    • CommentAuthorstephendv
    • CommentTimeJun 21st 2009
     
    Chest freezer that uses 113kWh/year: http://www.liebherr.com/hg/en/products_hg.asp?menuID=101405!332142-0_25118-0

    Fridge freezer that uses 197kWh/year: http://www.liebherr.com/hg/en/products_hg.asp?menuID=101405!332118-0_26502-0

    Came to the same conclusions as cloudy_thoughts (just by comparing models): fridge freezers are more efficient than plain fridges.
    • CommentAuthorGBP-Keith
    • CommentTimeJun 23rd 2009
     
    Has anyone yet mentioned fridge-replacement-therapy? A larder?
    • CommentAuthorneelpeel
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009 edited
     
    Posted By: GBP-KeithHas anyone yet mentioned fridge-replacement-therapy? A larder?


    You mean...no fridge!? what about dairy products?

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