Major household appliances on average account for about 17% of a homes total energy use. The biggest culprits are refrigerators, washing machines and clothe dryers respectively.
Here are some energy saving tips and ideas to reduce the electricity and natural gas costs involved with operating these appliances.
Check the thermostat in your refrigerator. The recommended temperature setting for fresh foods is between 37 and 40 degrees and for frozen foods its between 0 and 5 degrees.
It’s a good idea to check the refrigerator temperature yourself. Place a thermometer in a full glass of water in the fresh food compartment and place a thermometer by itself in the freezer, after about 24 hours remove the thermometers for an accurate reading.
Manually defrost the freezer regularly, especially older models. Frost build up decreases the efficiency of the freezer. Don’t allow the frost build up to exceed one quarter of an inch in thickness.
Test the door seals of the freezer and refrigerator. The seals should be as air tight as possible. Close the doors over a sheet of paper. If the object falls or if you can pull the object out fairly easily then the door latch may need adjusting or the seals may have expired.
Keep in mind that the average refrigerator last about 14 years. It maybe time to consider purchasing a new energy efficient refrigerator.
