Is it better to have a full refrigerator or empty for power consumption?

Question

Is it better to have a full refrigerator or empty for power consumption?

Answer 1

Full works the best. Filling your fridge with just gallons of water increases efficiency. Cold things retain cold better than just empty space.

Answer 2

FULL

Because when you open a near-empty refrigerator, lots of cold air escapes and gets replaced by room temperature air which has to be cooled down all over again.  If you fill it up with food or for that matter jugs of water or sand, that reduces this air exchange when you open the door.  Plus all of that food or whatever retains "cold" better when the power goes out for awhile.

Answer 3

Yes a full refrigerator is better.Jest keep a Little air space around the items .The items hold the temp down much like ice in a cooler .In this way the refrigerator dose not cycle as much.

Answer 4

a full unit will run less than an emptier one

Answer 5

If it's turned on, it should be full; the interior temperature will remain colder and the compressor won't run as much.

Answer 6

Definitely full.

Answer 7

It makes no difference.  The heat gain of a refrigerater is the same whether it is full or not since heat gain depends on the difference between the temperature of the refrigerated space and  the ambient space.

Answer 8

If it is full it is more efficient to run. If it is empty, do not run it at all. Not on at all has the least power consumption.

Fridges and Freezers are probably the most expensive electrical appliance to run.

If you are going to run a refrigerator you can save money by:

Filling it to capacity, use bottles of frozen water.



Keep the temperature between 3 degrees C and 5 degrees C

Keep coils free from dust (dust can increase energy consumption by 30%)

Buy a fridge saver plug

http://www.savaplug.co.uk/savastore/pc/v...

Pull your fridge away from walls, it is more efficient if it is free standing

Don't site your fridge next to a cooker, boiler or radiator

Answer 9

If it was empty then I presume you would turn it off so the answer has to be 'empty'.

Answer 10

If you have an empty one, you can unplug it.

But what costs most of the energy in a fridge is cooling down the extra air that rushes in  when the door is open. We can reduce that by loading the empty spaces with empty boxes that prevent that air exchange.

We do not want to fill it up with a lot of water, because it does take a lot of energy to cool that down. (Except that in event of power outage bags of water in the top freezer keep the food cool a long time).

But choosing a fridge with bins that do not allow outside air into that space does save energy.

Answer 11

Full.  And mine is full of venison, elk meat, ducks, pheasants, and salmon.

Answer 12

The difference in efficiency between a full but not overflowing fridge and and empty one has more to do with how often you open your fridge door and for how long.

This is because the major difference between a full and empty fridge is in the amount of cold air falling out of your fridge to be replaced by warm/hot air when you open the fridge door.