If Thanksgiving dinner is at your house this year, be sure not to overlook an unsung holiday hosting hero: the refrigerator. Holiday meals put heavy demands on our fridges, so prepare beforehand to make sure yours is up to the task.
If your fridge is more than a decade old, it might not be. Models that bear the Energy Star label are about 9% more efficient than federal standards require, since they create less heat and have improved insulation and temperature and defrost mechanisms, according to the Department of Energy.
Yet more than 55 million households have refrigerators that are more than 10 years old, DOE says. By replacing yours with a new, energy-efficient model, you could save up to $150 in electricity charges over the appliance’s lifetime.
When shopping for a new refrigerator or freezer, read the EnergyGuide label. It tells you how many kilowatt-hours of electricity the unit will consume in a year. The smaller the number, the better.
Look for refrigerators that have a freezer on the bottom or the top, as side-by-side designs consume more energy. Chest freezers are typically better insulated than upright models.
Whether you’re buying a new fridge this year or not, follow these tips for more efficient use around the holidays:
- Brush or vacuum your fridge’s coils regularly to improve efficiency by as much as 30%.
- Keep your refrigerator full but not overstuffed for maximum efficiency.
- Set your refrigerator’s temperature between 36 degrees and 40 degrees, and make sure the freezer stays between zero degrees and 5 degrees.
- Put a dollar bill in the door’s seal to test for airtightness: If the dollar slips out easily, the seal may need repair or replacement.
- Avoid putting hot leftovers in the refrigerator, which raises the overall temperature in the fridge and makes it work harder to cool down.
