CONSERVING WITH YOUR REFRIGERATOR
| FIRST WE SAVE, THEN WE PAY |
THE HOME IS THE FASTEST AND BEST PLACE TO CONSERVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE, KEEP YOUR HOUSE BRIGHT BUT ULTIMATELY LITE... SAVINGS - Close the door to the Fridge: Make sure you keep the door closed when you are not using it. Quickly close the door between uses. If you are trying to figure out what to eat, open the fridge, take a survey of everything that is inside and then figure out what to eat after door is closed. Make sure the door shuts tightly. Check the magnetic connection between the door and frame. Also check the weather-stripping around the door and make sure it is sealing consistently around the door. Any leak around the door introduces cold air into the house, making your fridge use more electricity to cool the food down again. Don’t think that the air that leaks is an asset to the rest of the house since the air coils used to cool the inside of the fridge is on the outside of the fridge and that warms up the house while cooling the inside of the fridge. Maintain your Refrigerator often: Clean the coils on the back of the fridge as often as they collect any dust. Monitor them every month to find out when they begin to get dusty. By cleaning the coils, this maximizes the efficiency of the fridge. First clean off with vacuum to suck up excess dirt and dust, then scrub and wipe them down for maximum efficiency. Be sure to unplug unit before cleaning it. Keep Refrigerator away from Heat: Make sure that all other appliances are away from the fridge. Appliances such as oven, dishwasher, and anything else that emits heat should be at least two feet away. Also make sure there are no air registers, windows, or doors around the unit. The more heat in the area around the fridge, the more energy needed to cool down the coils in the back of the unit. Check your Freezers Efficiency: The freezer runs more efficiently when the freezer compartment is full. This way it needs to cool down less empty space. Also do not store items in front of fan, there needs to be circulation throughout compartment. Troubles with Automatic Defrost Freezers/Refrigerator: Although there are automatic defrost fridge/freezers, these use up a great deal of electricity. The manual-defrost unit uses 36% less energy. Check temperature settings inside the fridge: Use a thermometer inside the fridge and inside the freezer portions of the unit. The fridge should sit at around 36-38 degrees while the freezer should sit about 0-5 degrees. Uncovered Liquids: Do not store uncovered liquids in your fridge. Vapors from this liquid can overload compressor. Hot food should cool down: Allow food to cool down before you put it into the fridge. This will allow the heat to be released before the fridge has to do it and waste electricity. Plan ahead about the ingredients: Plan ahead, make a menu and map out all ingredients so that you only have to open the door once to get all of your ingredients. ENERGY STAR and High Efficiency: When looking for a new fridge, oven, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, or dryer. Always look for a high efficient appliance. Compare the energy stickers to know which appliance is more efficient compared to size not options. Options are nice but the more options you have, the more energy you use, unless that option is ENERGY STAR. This new type of classification will be displayed on a yellow tag and will compare this unit to others its size and options. Look for the appliance with the least amount of electricity used per year. Size does matter in this case: - Size does matter in this case. Only get the size appliance that you need for your home. When you don’t use all of your space, you waste a great deal of energy. If you don’t use your extra freeze, unplug it, it is simply wasting money and the small amount that is in it can be moved to your refrigerator’s freezer. The more you have in your freeze the more efficient your fridge works. |
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CONSERVATION IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD
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