A full refrigerator is a happy refrigerator. In all seriousness, keeping your refrigerator and freezer full will allow it to run efficiently and use less energy. Don’t take fullness for overstuffing; allow cool air to circulate through. By keeping a full fridge, you reduce warm air space so your unit doesn’t work overtime. Think of it this way, your food in your fridge functions as thermal mass; meaning, your food items keep cold so there’s a decrease of warm air circulating through that your motor has to cool down. If you still need to go grocery shopping this week and are lacking the groceries to fill up your refrigerator, use water. Simply fill up any containers, jugs and gallons with water and place them in your fridge. The best place to set your gallons and bottles are on the top shelves, and in the door. This same principle can be applied to your freezer. Of course if you’re placing a bottle in the freezer, make sure you allow room for expansion and use plastic—ice packs work like a charm. Make sure there is enough air circulation between your food items and bottles of water too. Plus, you can take advantage of Mother Nature—if it’s cold and snowy outside, freeze or cool down your water before placing it in your kitchen appliance. It is much more efficient to have a full refrigerator than an empty one since it has to cool down all of the warm air each time you open it up. Gallons of water will help to keep your refrigerator retain its coolness, and use much less electricity as opposed to an unfilled one—not to mention, you have ice cold water at hand for your cooler, camping or for drinking (after you go grocery shopping first). Double win.
Photo by: Klearchos Kapoutsis
