Refrigerator placement for electricity saving
Refrigerators are one of the biggest energy-consuming appliances at home which consumes as much as 15% of electricity in a typical urban household. Refrigerators take the heat from food (to make them cool) and push the heat outside. Thus it is very important the environment around the refrigerator should be cool enough to take the heat. And it is also important to place the refrigerator right for its efficient operation.
People when they buy a refrigerator typically try to place it in a corner in the kitchen. Care should be taken on following before placing the same:
- It is very important to place it in a way to provide enough space for the air to flow around it. Refrigerators release heat from back or bottom and most manufacturers specify the clearance space needed by their models in the handbooks they provide along with the product. If the information is not available, as a thumb rule, it is better to provide at least 6 inches of free space around the refrigerator to help the heat generated by motor and compressor to escape.
- It is also important to keep refrigerators away from sunlight, so keeping it close to a window will make the refrigerator work harder to keep the food cool inside thereby increasing the electricity consumption and units consumed.
- Quite often people use the top of the refrigerator as a storage spot. It is very important to keep the space clean to provide breathing space to the refrigerator.
- Do not keep any heat sources around the refrigerator. Avoid keeping gas stoves, microwave ovens, etc close to refrigerators.
- Keeping the refrigerator in a well-ventilated room will improve the efficiency of the refrigerator as it will allow cooler air to come around the refrigerator.
As per energy guide with an increase of every 5-6 degree centigrade, the energy consumption of a refrigerator increases by 40% which can significantly impact electricity bills. Thereby it is very important to place refrigerators in right location. Also always buy a BEE 5 star rated refrigerator for saving electricity. To know more about BEE star rated refrigerators please see our article below.
A short video to save electricity in refrigerators:
About the Author:
Abhishek Jain is an Alumnus of IIT Bombay with almost 10 years of experience in corporate before starting Bijli Bachao in 2012. His passion for solving problems moved him towards Energy Sector and he is keen to learn about customer behavior towards Energy and find ways to influence the same towards Sustainability. More from this author.
