Efficient Fridge Can Lower Bills

QUESTION: My old noisy refrigerator is on its last legs. I want a new super-efficient CFC-free model with more convenience features. What is the best type to buy and how much electricity will a new one save?

ANSWER: After your furnace, air conditioner and water heater, an old refrigerator is the largest energy consumer in a home. Installing a new one will cut the electricity costs and noise in half and provide many new convenience features.

Some of the most efficient new full-sized family models cost less than $50 per year to operate. This is because of improved insulation, seals, compressors and controls. These improvements also greatly reduce noise.

Many of the new convenience features also save electricity. For example, a door-within-a-door model includes another small door for frequently used items like drinks or snacks. Using this small door reduces the number of energy-guzzling times the large main door is opened.

Convenient slide-out sealed shelves are also an electricity saver. These reduce the length of time that the door has to be opened to find and get items. If there is a spill, these shelves allow it to be cleaned up faster.

Optional storage and serving dishes also save energy. Specially sized dishes slip into designated slots inside the refrigerator. A meal can be prepared early and stored in the dishes. Just slide a dish out and pop it in the microwave. Serve the food in the dish and then put the dish in the dishwasher.

If your family uses a lot of cold drinks and ice, a through-the-door beverage station is ideal. It reduces the frequency of the door being opened. If you do not drink many cold beverages, then avoid this. It is an expensive option, takes up space and reduces efficiency unless used often.

Several top-of-the-line models use two compressors, one for the refrigerator and one for the freezer. This provides precise temperature control of both sections for more efficiency and better food preservation.

A design with the compressor and vent on the top of the unit is efficient and convenient. Since heated air rises, it makes engineering sense not to place the compressor under the refrigerator. This design is more common in expensive built-in models.

Although you may still be able to buy Freon-type models, new CFC-free designs are best. There are no CFC gases (ozone destroying chemicals) in the compressor system or used to make the wall insulation. These will also be less expensive to repair in the future, when Freon becomes more scarce.

Write for Update Bulletin No. 535 showing a buyer’s guide of the 15 most efficient refrigerator-freezers, including annual operating costs, sizes, convenience and design features and refrigerator efficiency tips. Please include $2 and a business-size self-addressed stamped envelope and mail to James Dulley, Los Angeles Times, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244. To rush bulletin delivery, e-mail:

https://www.dulley.com

Letters and questions to Dulley, a Cincinnati-based engineering consultant, may be sent to James Dulley, Los Angeles Times, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244. To read 150 previous columns, e-mail Dulley at https://www.dulley.com