Proper use of the refrigerator helps you save electricity, effectively maintains its durability, and prolongs the fridge’s life. Here, I would like to introduce some good tips about How to increase refrigerator cooling to help you effectively save electricity for your family.
Choose the capacity of the refrigerator that suits your needs
Before buying a refrigerator, you should determine the number of family members to select a fridge with an appropriate capacity. Small refrigerator capacity will not meet the needs of food preservation well and vice versa. Choosing to buy a refrigerator that is too large will waste electricity.
Further reading: Which Refrigerator is the Best for a Family with 4-5 Members?
Technical tips
Adjust the appropriate temperature
If you adjust the temperature too high to save electricity when using the refrigerator, the food may spoil due to not providing enough cold. Conversely, too low a temperature will waste energy. Therefore, you should set the correct temperature according to the advice of experts, specifically as follows:
- Refrigerator temperature: about 2 degrees Celsius – 4 degrees Celsius
- Freezer temperature: about minus 15 degrees Celsius
Check the door seal regularly
If the door is left open because the door seal is bent or torn, cold air will escape. At the same time, air from the environment (outside the cabinet) also quickly creeps inside. Therefore, the compressor must operate with a higher capacity to stabilize the temperature, causing power loss. When detecting a problem with the doormat of the cabinet, you should fix it to save energy use.
Keep away from the heat source
It would be best to place the refrigerator in a cool place, not near an oven, gas stove, or other heat-emitting devices. The heat emitted from these devices can cause the fridge to warm up, affecting the compressor’s ability to operate. In addition, placing the refrigerator in a well-ventilated place also helps the cabinet dissipate heat better, prolonging its life and saving energy for the family.
Place the refrigerator some distance away from the wall
It would help if you placed the refrigerator in a fabulous location, 10-15 cm from the back wall and about 2 cm from the sides so that the fridge has space to radiate heat. In addition, you can place the refrigerator about 5 cm above the ground, helping to prevent moisture and support the heat dissipation process to take place better.
Limit frequent turning on and off of the refrigerator
If you do not use the refrigerator for a long time, you can turn off the power and clean up the items and food in the fridge. Then clean and wait for the cabinet to dry before closing the door to limit bacterial growth.
Make sure the refrigerator plugs or sockets are tightly plugged
You should check to see if the plug and socket are tightly plugged. If they are not, there will be black spots around the socket and sparks when plugged in. If the copper connections are not tight, the refrigerator will not run. You just need to replace the socket, so your fridge can work properly.
Regular cleaning
Clean the condenser regularly
You should clean the condenser unit at least once every 6 months (or once a year) to avoid dust and dirt sticking to the refrigerator, preventing the cooling process of the refrigerator. For some new models of refrigerators, the condenser coil can be placed inside. However, you can remove the protective grille and then clean the condenser. To clean, unplug the power, use a vacuum cleaner or a brush and a soft cloth to remove dirt.
Refrigerator cleaning
Keeping the refrigerator clean helps limit the growth of bacteria and mold and helps the refrigerator dissipate heat better. It would be best if you regularly cleaned the rubber gasket on the refrigerator door to close the door more tightly, avoiding cold air escaping and consuming electricity.
Practice good refrigerating habits
Cover food and put it in the fridge
Before placing foods in the refrigerator, you should cover them with cling film or store them in a food container. This helps limit the generation of odor-producing bacteria and helps protect the nutritional content of the food.
Don’t open the refrigerator door for too long
When you open and close the refrigerator door frequently, the temperature inside the refrigerator increases, causing the compressor to adjust the temperature to maintain the coldness and humidity of the environment inside the refrigerator, the more times the refrigerator door is opened/closed, the more the compressor operates at a higher frequency, causing energy loss.
Put enough food in the refrigerator
People often think that storing less food helps the refrigerator operate more efficiently, but that is not the case. You should keep enough food in the fridge. When the food is cold, they will cool each other, helping to balance the temperature in the refrigerator and make the compressor work less. Therefore, if the refrigerator does not have enough food to fill, you can put an extra bag of ice or cold water inside.
Do not put hot food in the refrigerator
Putting hot food in the refrigerator causes the temperature inside the fridge to rise. The compressor has to work harder to provide cold for the food in the fridge. This causes the fridge to consume more electricity, increasing the cost of electricity for the home.
Turn off automatic ice-making when necessary
The compressor will consume more power to provide cold air, serving automatic freezing. So, turn off the automatic ice-making feature if you do not need to use ice too much.
Further reading: The 10 Best Portable Ice Makers for Home
Bottom line
We have revealed to you some simple ways to increase refrigerator cooling. I hope the above information will help you.
Also, once you discover the cause that makes the refrigerator not being cold, you should solve it and fix it as quickly as possible. A Stitch In Time Saves Nine.
Reference:
Ways to Make Your Refrigerator More Efficient, energized.edison.com, Retrieved on Jan. 25, 2022