Refrigerator guide for the conscious consumer

Take notes!

Here are some basic refrigerator facts to take note of before researching your next refrigerator purchase.

In your home, your refrigerator is the third largest source of energy consumption over the entire year. The largest consumers are you water heater and your cooling/heating system.

Depending on the age and model, your current fridge may be so inefficient that by replacing it, it will pay for itself within a few years. The energy efficiency and standards have increased enormously over the past ten years.

Compared to a standard refrigerator sold in the 1970's which uses over 1,800 kWh per year, the Energy Star rated models use less than 450 kWh per year and have 10-20% more storage space!

Even compared to models manufactured before 1993, the new models use 45-50% less energy when the Federal Efficiency Standards were inacted. Then in 2001, a new set of standards, known as the Energy Star approved standards, were indroduced. These improved on the 1993 standards by an additional 15%.

Here's One way to look at all these numbers. By using an Energy Star labeled refrigerator for a year compared with one from 1992, you would save enough power to light your home for almost four months! Some of technological advances that have led to these dramatic improvements include: tighter door seals, better insulation, efficient compressors, better sensors for precision temperature regulation as well as improved cooling coils.

Fridge features (There are many more features than there were 10 years ago!)

-Adjustable door bins: allow you to hold tall containers inside the door and prevent spills
-Adjustable shelves: Help you organize your frige more efficiently depending on your eating habits
-Electronic control panels: help you monitor your energy usage and alert you of diagnostic problems
-Ice and Water dispensers with filters: great for saving on bottled water. You can find replacement filters at cheap online retailers.
-Wine/Beverage racks: help keep your beverages at the perfect temperatures
-Spill resistant shelves- spills stay on one shelf instead of dripping all over the frige!
-Quick freeze shelf: special freezer shelf allows you to rapidly freeze items.
-Door Alarm: alerts you if you leave the door open (especially nice when you have kids!)
-Trim kits: help you match your refrigerator with the rest of your kitchen
-Advanced humidity settings: sensors that help keep meat, fruit, and vegetable in ideal conditions.

10 Fridge buying tips

1. Carefully consider the size of refrigerator you will need.

2. When calculating fridge capacity , start with 12 cubic ft. and add 2-4 addition ft. for each person.

3. When calculating the needed dimensions , allow at least one inch on each side and three inches on top and back of the refrigerator for proper air circulation

4. Be sure your new fridge will fit through your doorways!

5. Consider buying spill proof glass shelves and an water/ice dispenser with a child lock if you have little ones :)

6. If you live in a warm climate, consider a model with an ice maker. If you live in a cool climate, know that ice makers use about 15-20% more energy

7. If you eat a lot of fruits and veggies, look for humidity control crispers to ensure max life out of your perishables.

8. If you drink a lot of beer and or soda like me, a model with a beverage compartment will save space.

9. Manual defrost models can use up to half the energy of automatic defrost models. However, if you don't defrost regularly, you won't save any energy because frost buildup increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running.

10. Buy an Energy Star approved model folks. You will notice the difference on your energy bill and many of these models have lifetime warranties. Also keep in mind that side by side refrigerators use 10-20% more energy than do Top or Bottom freezer models.