We recently published an article on building an environmentally friendly lifestyle. We mentioned that although green design and environmentally sustainable building techniques are a good start to reducing your carbon footprint, lifestyle choices are essential to the mix.Most of us start by replacing all of our tungsten light-bulbs with the energy-saving fluorescent alternatives. We then start to consider things like geysers, kettles and stoves; perceived to be the most energy hungry appliances. However, the one that we never think will contribute to global warming is our fridge…
Fridges are the third highest consumer of household energy because they run continually, and get opened several times a day. Just think about how long it takes for an item to freeze or cool down, and then how many times you open the door in a day.
Here are some tips on choosing and owning a fridge:
HOW TO CHOOSE A FRIDGE/FREEZER
- Lose the fancy icemaker: voting in favour of good old fashioned ice trays will save you up to 20 % electricity
- Choose the right size for your needs: if your fridge is bigger, or smaller, you’ll have inefficient energy usage
- Fridge/Freezer: having the freezer on the top is the most efficient, on bottom is the next with the side-by-side options being the least energy efficient. This is largely due to the freezer compartment size.
- Glass shelves: apart from the obvious longevity and environmental benefit, glass is a excellent conductor of heat (or cold, in this case), and is not an insulator like plastic, which is what you want on the inside…
- Self-defrosting: most models offer this feature as it improves the efficiency of the unit
SAVE ENERGY AND MONEY
Once you’ve purchased a fridge, here’s how to reduce the energy consumption:
As a green builder of luxury homes, we are not only committed to the process but also to our people. We recognise that building a sustainable environment will take all of us working together – we hope that these tips will benefit you and the world that our children will grow up in!
Once you’ve purchased a fridge, here’s how to reduce the energy consumption:
- Check the door seals regularly: the fridge should ‘suck in’ a little when the door closes
- Clean the coils at the back: keeping them free of dust and grime will keep efficiency to a maximum
- Defrost regularly: iced-up freezers use loads of energy to maintain that ice
- Keep the door shut: leaving the fridge door open for one minute takes half an hour to get back to temperature again
As a green builder of luxury homes, we are not only committed to the process but also to our people. We recognise that building a sustainable environment will take all of us working together – we hope that these tips will benefit you and the world that our children will grow up in!
