Empty vs Full Freezer

Your refrigerator and freezer take up about seven to nine percent of your energy bill.  There are many ways to reduce the amount of energy used to keep your freezer cool by simply reducing the amount of warm air that enters.  When warm air enters a fridge or freezer space, the fridge/freezer’s natural instinct is to get it back to how cold it was prior to the door being open.  Therefore, it will use more energy to cool the air inside. 

Previous Be EGOlogical tip: “Hunger + ? = Bad” recommended avoiding leaving the fridge/freezer door open for a long time to reduce the amount of warm air entering.  Another way to save money on the energy costs of your fridge/freezer is to keep your freezer stocked at all times.  It takes more energy to cool down empty air space because when your freezer is full, there is less room for warm air to enter.  Therefore less energy will be used to cool down your freezer. 

If your freezer is not full of food, you can fill the empty space with cardboard boxes full of newspaper or frozen water bottles.  By keeping your freezer full, your will reduce the amount of energy your fridge/freezer uses and therefore reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during energy production and save some money on your energy bill.