Unless your fridge is so outdated or worn out that you've already decided to replace it with an power recovery refrigerator, it's a good idea to do a uncomplicated appraisal to see if the fridge is running efficiently. Issues like how often and for how long the compressor is on, whether there's frost in the freezer compartment, how good your door seals are, and the temperature of the freezer and fridge sections, can all impact your refrigerator electricity efficiency.
Start by just trying to remember how often you hear the compressor motor churning. Does it seem to be running continuously, or is the fridge mostly silent? Does the compressor appear to short cycle (short bursts of running time, then short rests)? while times of the day when the refrigerator door stays shut (for example overnight), the behavior of electricity consumption for power sufficient refrigerators is commonly that of short periods with the compressor motor running, interspersed with much longer periods of the compressor motor switched off. If that's how your refrigerator operates, you're in good shape.
Refrigerator Door Seals
If the compressor is on continuously, there could be problems with the gasket seal, or dust build-up on the coils, or the refrigerator may be in a closed-in space so that the heat the motor is working to extract from the interior has no place to escape to. You might just have an old fridge with an inefficient compressor, which means less heat is extracted for a given power consumption, or you might have poor insulation in the fridge walls, so that more heat leaks in through the fridge sides. Or you may have set the temperature too low in whether the fridge or the freezer compartment.
Next look for ice build-up in the freezer section. Fast or heavy ice build-up in a manual-defrost freezer is commonly an indication that warm, moist air is getting into the freezer compartment. You could have a poor seal on the freezer section, which allows cold air to escape through the seal, and warm, moist air to enter in its place. It takes more electricity to extract heat from moist air than from dry air, so you win on two fronts by minimizing air leakage. Even if you have a great seal, you should defrost a manual-defrost freezer regularly. You should never let more than a quarter inch of ice form on the compartment walls, as the frost makes the compressor work harder.
Check your fridge and freezer compartment gaskets to make sure you have a good seal. The accepted test is the dollar-bill test. Open the refrigerator or freezer door so that you can slide a dollar bill halfway in, then shut the door. If the dollar bill is held tightly in place, the seal is good in that part of the gasket. Do the same at assorted other points along the door seal. If at any point the bill slides out, or feels loose, try lively the bill along the seal up and down until it sticks. That should give you a feeling for how big each leak is.
You can occasionally solve gasket leaks by wiping down the gasket to take off any residue that might preclude a good seal. But if there are gaps and the gasket is clean, it's time to replace the seal.
Your refrigerator may pass the dollar bill test even though the gasket is letting in air - if the gasket is ripped. Cracks can grow in the thin part of the gasket where it attaches to the door. So run your finger along the gasket feeling for rips, all the way nearby each door.
For a do-it-yourself person, gaskets can be fairly easy to replace. I bought a new gasket for my fridge five years back and without old education had it on the door within a half hour. And an appliance repair person can install one even quicker, especially if you let them know to bring along a replacement gasket with them before they make their service call. So if your gasket is leaky, get it replaced.
What are the ideal temperature settings for your fridge and freezer sections?
The last thing to check in your do-it-yourself refrigerator check-up is the median temperature in both compartments of your fridge. You can use whether a uncomplicated glass thermometer or an electronic probe thermometer to check temperatures. Put the thermometer (or the probe portion, for an electronic thermometer) in a jar half-filled with water (a pickle jar does nicely), and leave it in the compartment for a full 24 hours. (Make sure the jar is only half filled with liquid for the freezer compartment, because otherwise you'll break the jar. Don't open the unit for at least an hour before you do your 24-hour measurement. Check the temperature on the thermometer. For the fridge compartment, you should strive for 39F or 40F (or 4C). For the freezer section, go for 5F (or -15C). If the fridge or freezer temperature is lower than the ideal settings, you are wasting electricity cooling your food more than you need to.
Remember that for chest or full upright freezers, where food is commonly kept longer than in the freezer compartment of fridges, you should strive for a slightly lower freezer temperature of 0F or -17C.
If the temperature is not at the exact setting, adjust the thermostat in the accepted section upwards or downwards by just a small amount. Then wait another 24 hours and do a second measurement. It's best to tweak the thermostat a microscopic at a time, until you achieve the ideal refrigerator temperature. Once you get to the exact setting, you can use a permanent felt pen to draw a line on the thermostat dial, so you have a reference point. It's not a given that this will always give you the exact temperature (thermostats can be temperamental) but if you subsequently notice that the mark is far from its original position, you'll know to quantum the compartment temperature once more.
It's prominent to quantum your refrigerator temperature (both compartments) on a monthly basis, or at the very least, if you have already measured and have marked the exact position of the thermostat dial, to see that the dial hasn't moved. It's easy for these dials to get turned inadvertently, or on purpose by microscopic hands, and if the temperature moves far from the allowable settings of 40F for the fridge section or 5F for the freezer compartment, you will whether have to deal with food spoilage or a higher power bill.
Is Your Old Fridge Running Optimally? Do-it-Yourself Tune-up
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