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Old 06-04-12, 01:35 PM   #3
Piwoslaw
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I didn't think about the cold refrigerant instantly cooling the compressor after cycling on, so I guess that heating it prior to startup would be a waste.

The place I'll put the freezer in the basement can get close to freezing because the of the proximity of the air intake vent for the (open combustion chamber) boiler. The air coming into the basement through the vent can be as low as -8°C during the coldest days, though I plan to duct that air closer to the boiler. Also, in a longer time scale, the basement will get better insulation and sealing, and DHW tank, so hopefully the lowest basement temperatures will be higher with each renovation. The small amount of heat from the compressor may also raise the temp slightly.

Unfortunately, the used freezers I've seen in classifieds here are at least 10 years old, so I doubt that there would be any reliable energy usage data. The numbers I gave earlier are estimates based on what I've heard/read in random places. The ads rarely specify the model, only the volume of the freezer and the wattage of the compressor. At the end of the street there is a guy who services appliances, so I may ask him if he has any used models and if he knows anything about their power consumption.

Looking through new units I found a Whirlpool (model 2010 or something) which has a good A+ energy rating, and has an ECO function, which slightly raises the temperature when partially full. The downside of new units is that their coils aren't exposed, as in the older models. Probably not much of a problem if I plan to run the compressor for less than hour each day.
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