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Old 04-29-09, 02:36 PM   #1
Sandcruiser
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Default EcoModding my fridge

I've got a lousy refrigerator. It is a GE stainless side by side that probably accounts for most of my power consumption. Not only is it inefficient by design, but we live in a hot place--- so the inefficiencies are more important (avg indoor temp during the day is near 100* most days)

Anyhow- I'm looking for not-unattractive modifications to this beast to see if we can make it work better. Buying a new fridge is no-go for me right now. Fridges down here are about 50% more than the same model in the USA.... can't justify that expense yet.

So here are some ideas I've had- I'm getting a killawatt meter soon to test actual performance, but won't probably know "baseline" any time soon.

I have put the temp of the fridge at 39 and the freezer at 5, which should save some power as the delta between ambient temp and internal temp is less.

I've plugged the ice-hole with a towel (from the inside) because the ice delivery system doesn't really work anyway and I had noticed that cold air seeped out of that hole.

Today I noticed that the condenser coils are wrapped in a tube-shape with as simple fan, located under the fridge. In theory, the air pulls throught the back of the fridge, over the coils, then blows across the compressor itself, and somehow finds its way out the front of the fridge at the bottom. Silly, really, to have all the hot stuff under the fridge, radiating and convecting heat upward into the fridge!

So my first mod is going to be to raise the fridge off of the ground with some simple wooden blocks. I figure that the added clearance will allow more air circulation, which should help keep things cooler. It'll also mean that the floor will re-radiate less heat to the compressor.

Depending on how that goes, I plan to get a small fan running down there to further move the air out of the hot area.

Someday, I'd like to look at remote-located fridge coils. Maybe outdoors in a shady spot, or better still--- inside a water heater!

I've checked the seals in the door- they work fine.

Any other tips/hints to make this work better? I'm dubious regarding insulation-- the exterior of the fridge doesn't feel very cool, except the dang doors, which are in a highly visible spot in the house- my wife will kill me if I slap insulation on the outside of them. Maybe some thin insulation inside?

Anyway- looking for ideas, please feel free to share yours

-Steve

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Old 04-29-09, 03:14 PM   #2
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Welcome to the site Steve. It sounds like you got a fun little project on your hands.

I don't know too much about refrigeration systems unfortunately, but we do have a few who can help out.

Take pictures if you can. We love to see what people have done.
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Old 05-04-09, 10:16 AM   #3
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Got my killawatt. We've had power issues in town this week so it keeps shutting off (no battery backup on the killawatt is a missing feature for those of us on sketchy grids)

Over the last 30 hours, I seem to have used about 3 kilowatts. I'm really surprised, actually. I expected higher. Of course, yesterday was "cold"- temps in the low 80s- most days we expect temps in the mid-90s. That'll have an effect, I assume.

I'm trying to run it for a few days in a row to get a baseline number before I start modding the fridge. Otherwise how will I know if I'm improving anything?

For my own records: I've got the freezer set to 4F and the fridge set to 39F. Need to get a thermometer to see if those figures are accurate within the fridge.
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Old 06-02-09, 06:40 AM   #4
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Steve, how is your project going? Do you have a baseline?
If you do raise the fridge and add an extra fan, then maybe wire it so spins only when the compressor is on. Otherwise it will be wasting electricity on moving air when not needed (though in your climate the compressor is most likey on more than off). Adding extra insulation never hurts, you can start in hard to see places, like the back or top, maybe a side. Also, is there enough room above the coils to add insulation between them and the bottom of the fridge? Something like thin styrofoam with a layer of aluminum foil. Maybe replace the light with LEDs. Normal lightbulbs add 20-40 watts of heat when on.
And one more piece of advice, though you probably know this already: try not to open the door too often.
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Old 06-02-09, 11:34 AM   #5
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I'm still pulling a baseline-- looks pretty solid at 120 watts, average, so far.

I think that the best bet with the fan would be something low-wattage/low-flow (and low noise!) that could run all the time. My thinking is that even when the compressor is off, or maybe especially when off, the coils are still hot and could benefit from getting cool(er) air in there. Or maybe just running something small across the compressor itself, which gets piping hot.

I like the insulation @ the bottom idea as well. I've got some thin roofing insulation which is 1/4" of foam and a silver foil. putting some of that between the compressor/coil and the fridge should lower heat gain.

I keep trying to feel for "cool" spots on the exterior, but it seems that most of them are on the front doors. I prefer to maintain what little aesthetics the fridge has. At some point I am thinking it could be cool to do a wood veneer or something. It wont' insulate much, but can't hurt.

I'll post info when I finally do get something done!
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Old 06-02-09, 11:57 AM   #6
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Edit: I'm averaging a pretty reliable 120 watts consumption on the fridge. Which actually surprises me! I figured it would use a lot more power than that. It takes more power to illuminate my kitchen than cool the fridge? Who knew?
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Old 06-02-09, 12:41 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandcruiser View Post
It takes more power to illuminate my kitchen than cool the fridge?
I guess that may depend on what kind of lights (and how many) you have...

I understand that 120W is continuous when the compressor is working? Now the question is: how often does it turn on and for how long? My metering device (it is not called a Kill-a-watt, but it does the same) registers how long a device is on. This is good for checking how much time a fridge is on and off per day. The problem is with appliances which do not turn completely off.
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Old 06-02-09, 01:28 PM   #8
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the 120 watts is based on several different 40-60 hour time periods in which the consumption averages approx 120 watts. We get very (very!) frequent 1-3 second power outages here. The kilowatt resets.

So I pull the fridge out of the wall every couple of days to see if it has more than 40 hours, if it does, I check the kWhrs consumed during that time and do the math to figure out approx wattage over the given time period.

I'd love to have a single number across a given month, to really get an idea, but so far it seems pretty close to consistent at about 120 watts. Max wattage that I've observed is about 200 watts. Minimum is 110 watts. I've never seen it below that figure.

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