Refrigerators are the biggest single power consumer in our homes, using on average between 600 and 900 kilowatt hours per year.

Nearly every house has a fridge, some (about 30 per cent) have two, and many of us also have a freezer (about 60 per cent). No surprise then that keeping food and drink cool uses 20 per cent of total residential energy consumption. Think of that next time you reach for a cold one! Better still, think about these things when you choose your next fridge…

• Don’t buy something that’s too big for your needs. If your fridge is only half full most of the time, it’s too big – and you are paying for more energy than you need as well as losing valuable extra space in the home.
• It is usually more cost effective to run one large fridge than two smaller ones.
• Features like automatic ice makers and through the door dispensers don’t just increase the purchase price, they also impact on energy consumption, adding some 100-150 kilowatt hours a year.
• The best frost-free models are now as energy efficient as manual defrost fridges. Do make sure you check the energy rating label though, as some frost-free models are power hungry.
• Two-door fridges with a top or bottom freezer are generally more efficient than those with side by side doors.
• If two fridges of different sizes have the same energy rating, the bigger fridge is the better buy as it uses the same energy to cool a bigger space.

USEFUL WEBSITES

Much useful information including product ratings can be found online.

Why not check out the ratings for products even before you leave home? This will help you understand the range of performance (at both top and bottom of the scale) for the product group you are investigating.

www.energyrating.gov.au
to find the most energy efficient electrical appliances

www.waterrating.gov.au
for appliance water efficiency ratings

www.environment.gov.au
for information about the phasing out of inefficient incandescent globes

www.energystar.gov.au
for energy efficient home electronics