Be that as it may, your freezer is helping you to save in food costs but improper use of it can cause you to spend more in your electricity bill because of a lot of wasted energy. A lot of wasted energy will equate to high electricity bill, to put it simply. What we don’t know or realize is that we are not actually cutting the cost of our household expenditures, we are doing the opposite – we are doing a lot of things that causes our electricity bill to rise.
To make sure that you are on the proper path to cutting your cost, make sure that you are doing the following to your freezer:
1. Check the temperature – Using a thermometer, check the temperature of the freezer. Make sure that the thermometer that you are using is the one really intended for checking the temperature of freezers; you wouldn’t want to break an ordinary thermometer for it has mercury content which is harmful to the body if ingested. Going back, make sure that the temperature of your thermometer is close to 0°F. The closer the degrees to 0°F, the better. This can also be converted to Celsius which is -18°C. Foods that are kept at 0°F tend to last for months longer than foods stocked up on 20°F or higher.
2. Remove the air inside the fridge – The air that’s trapped inside freezers cause freezer burn. In order to avoid this, make sure that you have selected the proper containers for the items inside your fridge. Checking that your items are packed tightly can reduce the chance of having air inside the fridge. Besides freezer burns, the air that’s trapped inside your freezer can produce unusual smells. Nobody wants this – use baking soda to clean your freezer and expect the smell to be gone. Additionally, do not forget to check your gasket once in a while. A gasket is the rubber door seal of your freezer. It keeps the cool air trapped inside the fridge and the warm air outside it. A worn gasket requires your freezer to use more energy to do its job.
3. Fill your freezer – For you to be able to keep the temperature of your freezer to 0°F, you must fill your freezer with items and leave no space. It will be a lot easier to maintain the temperature of your freezer by keeping it jam packed instead of leaving a lot of room space. However, as mentioned above, try to pack your items as tightly as you can, leaving no air inside the containers. If you find yourself thinking of how you can fill the spaces of your freezer, you may opt to fill square-shaped water containers with liquids. Rectangular or square shaped containers are easier to stack instead of the rounded ones.
4. List the items inside your freezer and post the note on the freezer door – May it be upright or chest, your freezer will most likely generate higher energy whenever it is opened. To avoid standing in front of your fridge for a long time in search for the food that you need, it’s better to make a list of all the items that you have inside your fridge and just tick off the products that you have already used.
Before buying a freezer, it is important to study your family’s habits. If your family is more into stocking up foods, then you might want to consider getting a freezer that can hold more foods. A chest freezer, for instance is a great storage for a lot of foods. To help you decide whether a chest freezer is good for you, here are additional tips that you can consider before buying one:
• The cost of your electricity bill is related to the style of freezer that you have. Apparently, chest freezers are known to be more cost-effective compared to upright freezers. Chest freezers keep its temperature cold when opened. Upright freezers, on the other hand, get hit with a blast of warm air every time you open it, causing your fridge to double its effort to maintain its temperature. Doubling the effort to maintain the temperature of the storage equates to higher electricity bill.
• Wasted energy can be accumulated to the way you stock your foods and maintain it. When it comes to room space, chest freezers are definitely the best ones to choose for it provides larger space for your foods. Check this blog post to know more about proper stocking for chest freezers.
• Freezers that are frequently defrosted cause your electricity bill to go up. Apparently, chest freezers are usually made for manual defrosting. Defrost a chest freezer once every 6 months or once every 12 months and then it’s already good to go.
Make your freezer work by following the instructions written above and make sure that you are really cutting your household cost!