Lower your utility bill – Part III

We’ve been telling you about easy ways to care for your budget and the environment (Part 1 and Part 2), a pretty cool way to kill two birds with one stone. One more set of tips on energy saving before we let you go out and spend all that green money.

Refrigerator/Freezer

• Don’t keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Recommended temperatures are 37°F to 40°F for the fresh food compartment and 5°F for the freezer section. If you have a separate freezer for long-term storage, keep it at 0°F.
• Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running. Don’t allow frost to build up more than one-quarter of an inch.
  • Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight. Test them by closing the door over a piece of paper or a dollar bill so it is half in and half out of the refrigerator. If you can pull the paper or bill out easily, the latch may need adjustment or the seal may need replacing.
  • Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.

• Move your refrigerator out from the wall and vacuum its condenser coils once a year unless you have a no-clean condenser model. Your refrigerator will run for shorter periods with clean coils.