State of the Art ... Refrigerator? - Page 3

ELGo · 04-24-13, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff5may

They are smaller because the Europeans take pride in using fresh ingredients for meals and cooking from scratch in no time flat. In the time it would take me to make mac and cheese from a box and nuke some green giant vegetables, any self respecting Frenchman or Italian would have already made dinner for 4 and ate half of it.

My wife likes to say that the French shop for fresh food almost daily.

What can I say, if I lived within walking distance of an open air market, I would too. As it is, I expect my 'fresh' fruits and vegetables to last close to a week in the fridge.

NeilBlanchard · 04-24-13, 10:15 PM

Thanks for the Whirlpool frig model number - the search I did came up with this:

Whirlpool Gold® 22 cu. ft. Resource Saver

Which says it uses ~60w so that is ~1.4kWh/day. That is decent, but when I measured my 27cu ft Kitchen Aid (21 years old!) it only uses ~1.6kWh/day. If the lights are not LED's then the bulbs can be changed, and this saves on the heat gain and the power use, too.

Edit: according to this site it uses ~1.1kWh/day, so that is certainly pretty good. Is this an accurate picture? It uses a 40W incandescent bulb, so a nice 6-8W LED would be a good change.

A lot of the reviews on Amazon talk about water condensing in the bottom of the freezer and a clogged drain, and it seems like this is a pretty serious issue. Also it may be noisier than some?

Man I wish they sold that Bosch SmartCool over here in the States - <400Wh/day would be amazing...

ELGo · 04-24-13, 11:31 PM

Neil,
That is indeed the model.
If you look under the 'manual' tab on the link you posted you will find the EnergyGuide pdf. That is where I quoted the 400 kwh/year from.

In our house the annual consumption is right about 360 kwh. Similar to cars and EPA MPG, I suggest using the EnergyGuide kwh ratings for comparison purposes.

Ours has been problem free. I do not know if that is because we are lucky to have a problem free model, or our use does not bring the problem out. Fwiw I live in a dry climate, and we do not open the freezer very often.

As for noise, my wife never hears it; I hear it every time it starts up because I am sensitized to energy use in the house, my hearing is quite good, and the ambient noise in our house is otherwise close to silent. I do not find the noise bad. I honestly doubt that any but a very small percentage of owners find this a problem. Perhaps ALL of them have complained on the internet ?

AC_Hacker · 04-25-13, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff5may

European appliances are always going to be smaller and more energy-efficient in general...

I think that there is another reason. European energy prices are about 2X what they are in North America. The US subsidizes energy via our global military presence. Even as I write, the US is indirectly (for sure), and directly (almost certainly) meddling in the internal affairs of Venezeuela, Iraq, Iran, the Caspian basin (and yet to be publicized areas in Africa)... all oil producing regions.

Also, European homes are usually smaller than in N. America, so smaller appliances fit in with the smaller homes. I live in a small home, and regular sized refrigerators really seem out of place. Also for me, too often the refrigerator is the place where food goes to die. I'm finding that a small capacity keeps me current on the contents of the food in the refrigerator.

-AC

AC_Hacker · 04-26-13, 11:59 AM

I've been writing down some of the refrigeration devices we have been discussing here, and also a few I've been looking into...

BTW, the third up from the bottom (Frostman), the one I am presently using, is the one found in a thrift shop for $20 . I put a kill-a-watt on it for a day and did the calcs for what it would be for a year ($11.78/year).

It has external coils on the back.

-AC

ELGo · 04-26-13, 04:54 PM

I cannot help but point out that your units should be Wh/day, not watts

AC_Hacker · 04-27-13, 10:30 PM

I came across this Refrigerator and Freezer Energy Rating Database.

I don't recall anyone posting a link to it before.

Best,

-AC

AC_Hacker · 05-02-13, 10:57 AM

You will be interested in my work of converting a small upright freezer to a refrigerator. Pictures & story HERE.

Best,

-AC

creeky · 05-14-13, 09:57 AM

For those who want a quick fridge fix I was just at Home Depot.
Magic Chef 10 cu.ft. fridge/freezer 312 kwh
4.5 cu.ft. fridge/freezer 245 kwh.

I bought the 10 cu.ft. No more hauling propane!

04-24-13, 10:15 PM	#22
NeilBlanchard Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth Posts: 383 Thanks: 78 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	Thanks for the Whirlpool frig model number - the search I did came up with this: Whirlpool Gold® 22 cu. ft. Resource Saver Which says it uses ~60w so that is ~1.4kWh/day. That is decent, but when I measured my 27cu ft Kitchen Aid (21 years old!) it only uses ~1.6kWh/day. If the lights are not LED's then the bulbs can be changed, and this saves on the heat gain and the power use, too. Edit: according to this site it uses ~1.1kWh/day, so that is certainly pretty good. Is this an accurate picture? It uses a 40W incandescent bulb, so a nice 6-8W LED would be a good change. A lot of the reviews on Amazon talk about water condensing in the bottom of the freezer and a clogged drain, and it seems like this is a pretty serious issue. Also it may be noisier than some? Man I wish they sold that Bosch SmartCool over here in the States - <400Wh/day would be amazing... Last edited by NeilBlanchard; 04-24-13 at 11:09 PM..

04-24-13, 11:31 PM	#23
ELGo Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Albuquerque Posts: 66 Thanks: 4 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Neil, That is indeed the model. If you look under the 'manual' tab on the link you posted you will find the EnergyGuide pdf. That is where I quoted the 400 kwh/year from. In our house the annual consumption is right about 360 kwh. Similar to cars and EPA MPG, I suggest using the EnergyGuide kwh ratings for comparison purposes. Ours has been problem free. I do not know if that is because we are lucky to have a problem free model, or our use does not bring the problem out. Fwiw I live in a dry climate, and we do not open the freezer very often. As for noise, my wife never hears it; I hear it every time it starts up because I am sensitized to energy use in the house, my hearing is quite good, and the ambient noise in our house is otherwise close to silent. I do not find the noise bad. I honestly doubt that any but a very small percentage of owners find this a problem. Perhaps ALL of them have complained on the internet ? Last edited by ELGo; 04-24-13 at 11:39 PM..

04-26-13, 11:59 AM	#25
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 724 Times in 534 Posts	I've been writing down some of the refrigeration devices we have been discussing here, and also a few I've been looking into... BTW, the third up from the bottom (Frostman), the one I am presently using, is the one found in a thrift shop for $20 . I put a kill-a-watt on it for a day and did the calcs for what it would be for a year ($11.78/year). It has external coils on the back. -AC Attached Thumbnails __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... Last edited by AC_Hacker; 04-26-13 at 12:40 PM..

04-27-13, 10:30 PM	#27
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 724 Times in 534 Posts	Useful Tool... I came across this Refrigerator and Freezer Energy Rating Database. I don't recall anyone posting a link to it before. Best, -AC __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...

05-02-13, 10:57 AM	#28
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 724 Times in 534 Posts	AC_Hacker's Hasty Freezer To Refrigerator Hack You will be interested in my work of converting a small upright freezer to a refrigerator. Pictures & story HERE. Best, -AC __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...

04-26-13, 04:54 PM	#26
ELGo Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Albuquerque Posts: 66 Thanks: 4 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	I cannot help but point out that your units should be Wh/day, not watts

05-14-13, 09:57 AM	#29
creeky Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: a field somewhere Posts: 304 Thanks: 64 Thanked 44 Times in 31 Posts	For those who want a quick fridge fix I was just at Home Depot. Magic Chef 10 cu.ft. fridge/freezer 312 kwh 4.5 cu.ft. fridge/freezer 245 kwh. I bought the 10 cu.ft. No more hauling propane!