Long gone are the days when air conditioners and refrigerators were considered to be luxuries. Today, they are counted as no less than necessities across the world.
Primarily, both the appliances share a common purpose – cooling down the immediate surroundings. While an air conditioner cools down a room and refreshes the air, a refrigerator cools the items stored in it and keeps them fresh.
Both these appliances have become an inseparable part of our lives used on a daily basis. However, it is important to understand the basic details about these appliances to be well-versed in their functioning and to deal with issues encountered during their use.
Here is an essential guide pertaining to the basics, use, and maintenance of air conditioners and refrigerators.
Table Of Contents
- What Is An Air Conditioner?
- How Does An Air Conditioner Work?
- Design Of An Air Conditioner
- Types Of Air Conditioning Units
- Hybrid Air Conditioners
- How To Maintain Your Air Conditioner?
- How To Keep Your Air Conditioner Safe?
- How To Maintain Your Refrigerator?
- How To Increase The Efficiency Of Your Refrigerator?
Air Conditioner
You need to be living under a rock to not be aware of the air conditioner in 2020!
Air conditioners are widely used in residential, commercial, and public premises for cooling down the air and refreshing the atmosphere.
Before going into the details about the types and maintenance of air conditioners, let us briefly understand what an air conditioner is and how it works.
What Is An Air Conditioner?
In simple words, an air conditioner is a device used for cooling down the temperature of a place by taking the heat out of the place. The key task of an air conditioner is to create a specific temperature (generally lower than the room temperature), maintain the same, and control the relative humidity and air purity of the concerned place.
An air conditioning system takes into consideration four major variables – air temperature, humidity, air movement, and air quality.
Air conditioners are used for residential and industrial purposes. However, the mechanism for both cases is different from each other. In the case of industrial application of air conditioners, a higher level of precision pertaining to air temperature and humidity control.
Also, most industrial air conditioners require a higher level of filtering and elimination of dust and other contaminants.
On the other hand, an air conditioner used for residential and other non-industrial purposes has to take personal temperature-humidity needs into consideration. Also, these air conditioners need to focus on the design and aesthetic appeal of the appliance, sound emission levels, energy consumption, smart weather forecasting features, and other relevant parameters.
Some of the key air conditioning appliances used for residential and industrial purposes include:
- Residential heat pumps
- Shelter units
- Packaged, split, and multi-split air conditioners for residential purposes
- Air handling units for large halls/auditoriums
- Rooftop units for air handling in smaller spaces
- Industrial chillers and heat pumps
- Close control units and precision cooling units
- Fan coils and hydronic systems
All of these units (and many more) in varied shapes, sized, designs, and capacity are used for serving the following major purposes:
- Cooling of air or water
- Heating of air or water
- Air humidification
- Air Dehumidification
- Mixing of air (from the outside and the inside)
- Ventilation
- Air filtering
How Does An Air Conditioner Work?
As mentioned earlier, an air conditioner cools down the temperature of a said location by transferring the warm air of the room out into the external air. It is responsible for changing the temperature, humidity, and general quality of the air.
An air conditioner in a central heating and cooling system provides you with cooler air through the ductwork installed within your house and draws the warm air out of the duct from your room. Air conditioners used for residential purposes carry on with the air circulation within a closed circuit.
This mechanism involves dehumidifying the circulated air a part of moisture condenses inside the appliance. This moisture is collected and expelled out of the system through a rubber hose.
However, the closed control units function a little differently. These units are designed for critical environments in housing servers or telecom equipment and manage air temperature and humidity with a limited range.
Apart from cooling and dehumidifying the air, these units also make use of electric heaters and humidifiers for applying specific temperature control and adjusting humidity.
Air-condition units that are more complex perform all the functions mentioned above housed in distinct compartments. The function of the chillers is to handle water instead of air. They cool down the air to a low temperature (around 0 degrees Celsius) or heated by reversing the cycle of refrigeration.
Design Of An Air Conditioner
Every air conditioner will have four basic components in its design – pump, evaporator, condenser, and expansion valve. With these components, the appliance has a working fluid and an opposite fluid, too.
It is very likely for two or more air conditioners to be completely different in size and design but has similar functionality.
The power to most air conditioners is supplied by an electrically-driven motor and pump combination. This combination circulates the refrigerant fluid inside the system. Certain air conditioners are designed for making use of natural gas for driving the chillers and work with the pump and gas engine for greater torque.
Based on the design of an air conditioner, the working fluid circulates through the air conditioning system at high pressure through the pump. It enters an evaporator in which it changes into a gaseous state and takes heat from the opposing fluid system.
Now, the working fluid moves into the condenser and releases heat into the atmosphere as it condenses back into the liquid form. When it passes through the expansion valve, the fluid returns to its state of low pressure. As the cooling medium, either air or fluid passes near the evaporator of the device, it draws heat to the evaporator.
This process results in effectively cooling down of the opposing medium and providing the required cooling to a place.
Now that you have a fair idea about what air conditioning is and how an air conditioner works, let us understand the different types of air condition units.
Types Of Air Conditioning Units
Air conditioners come in many designs, shapes, and functionalities. You must have seen a variety of air conditioning units at different places. Although the core functionality of every air conditioner is the same, different types of units are used at different locations and for different purposes.
If you are wondering about the best type of air conditioner for your use, here is a brief guide for choosing the best air conditioner, explaining all the major types of air conditioning units.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of air condition units – Stand-alone AC Units and Split-system AC Units.
This distinction is made on the basis of the fundamental working principle of air conditioners. ACS contain two sets of metal coils, one for gathering heat from your room and the other for dispersing the heat outside for cooling down your room. Amongst these coils is the liquid refrigerant used for transferring heat between the two coil sets.
Let us now have a look at the different types of air conditioners in detail.
Stand-alone AC Units
These are the air condition units in which both sets of coils (as mentioned above) are inside the same device which is fitted inside the house.
Some of the key features of such units include:
- They are cheaper in cost
- They have a lower capacity (as compared to the split-system AC units)
- As the compressor is located inside your house, they tend to get noisy
- These units are generally easy to install and carry
- They need an air vent going out of a window or a door for releasing the warm air out
There are five major types of stand-alone AC units:
1.Portable Air Conditioners
As the name suggests, these air conditioners are the units that need to elaborate installation. They are highly portable devices with wheels and can be easily carried around in your house/room.
These air conditioners are some of the most popular ones used for instant cooling and refreshment, without any fuss about installation. Also, they are the cheapest of the lot and quite small in size.
The capacity of a portable air conditioner ranges from 5.000 BTU (British Thermal Units) to 15.000 BTU. A unit with 10.000 BTU is sufficient to cool an area of 400-450 square feet effectively.
The only shortcoming of such air conditioners is that you always need to move around the air pipe whenever you want to move the AC unit. Whenever the AC is functioning, you need to make sure that the air hose for expelling the warm air out has its end outside your window/door.
2.Window Air Conditioners
Window ACs have been used very commonly for several years. As the name suggests, these air conditioners are fitted through a window or a wall with a shell containing both the coils for air circulation.
They are installed in a way that one end of the shell faces inwards into a room (for giving out cool air) and the other faces outside for letting out the warm air. Here, there is no need for two separate devices or an air vent with a single device. Everything is contained within a box-like shell that looks after air circulation on its own.
However, there are certain considerations to be made while installing a window AC. It is generally advised to fit such air condition units into walls no thicker than 9 inches. This is because thicker walls prevent smooth airflow and make the AC consume more energy than required.
These air conditioners are easier to install and cheaper as compared to split-system ACs. Certain window AC units offer heating services along with cooling services, too.
3.Wall-Mounted Air Conditioners
These are the relatively newer air condition units that are considered to be niche cooling devices. These ACs are the best for being used in older buildings where it is not quite possible to install a split-system unit.
These air conditioners can be easily mounted on walls with the help of sturdy supporters. Additionally, you will need to install two pipes behind the air conditioner unit going outside the room for expelling the warm air out.
Although these air conditioners are highly beneficial to be used in older buildings, you need to be careful about the wall getting too hot because of their large size. Also, the air pipes used for expelling the warm air tend to get too hot if the device is run throughout the day.
4.Floor-mounted Air Conditioners
The definition of floor-mounted air conditioners is pretty self-explanatory. They are similar to the wall-mounted ACs in functionality with the only difference being that these units are mounted on the floor instead of the walls.
These air conditioners contain two metal pipes that need to be fitted in a way that they are able to take the warm air out of the room. They are fairly energy-effective as compared to other air conditioning units.
In spite of their energy efficiency and easy installations, floor-mounted air conditioners are slowly losing relevance and are getting obsolete in the market.
5.Spot Coolers For Boats And Ships
These are slightly different stand-alone AC units as compared to the other types discussed here. Instead of being used for residential purposes, these air conditioners are used for the cooling of boats and ships.
These units have an average capacity of more than 30,000 BTU, which is sufficient for cooling down a mid-sized boat.
The structure of these air conditioners is almost opposite to the other air conditioning units. Here, the body is placed outside a boat, which is the warmer side of the appliance and two or more pipes go inside the boat for letting the cooler air in.
Split-system AC Units
While the stand-alone AC units involved both sets of coils fitted in the same device, the split-system AC units involve these coils fitted in two different devices or shells.
Here, the smaller and quieter one of the two shells is fitted within the house and the bigger and noisier one is fitted outside the house/room.
Some of the key features of the split-system AC units are:
- They are quieter as compared to the stand-alone units as the compressor is fitted outside
- The shell fitted inside looks sleek and aesthetic
- These ACs do not need air vents
- They have a bigger capacity and result in faster cooling
There are five major types of split-system AC units.
1.Central Air Conditioners
These are the most widely used air conditioners in the US, with almost every second house being fitted with them. These units involve the use of ducted air pipes that can be installed into any and every room of the house.
Although this system of air conditioners is highly complex to install, it is one of the easiest appliances to use. In most cases, the central air conditioning system comes pre-installed within a house when you move in.
However, if you are considering getting it installed, it is important to consider that the elaborate and complex installation is likely to cost you more than $10,000.
The reason behind this mammoth cost is that it requires breaking the ceilings and penetrating the walls.
Central air conditioners are also known as channel air conditioners and use a combination of indoor and outdoor air for cooling down the temperature of the house.
The central AC unit shell, which is called the powerhouse of the system and controls the entire air circulation, is situated outside the house, attached to it through one or more thick air ducts.
Owing to the complicated installation, central ACs always require the help of professional experts for setting them up on your premises.
2.Wall-Mounted Air Conditioners
The core structure and functioning of these air conditioners are similar to that of stand-alone wall-mounted AC. However, these air condition units have a quieter and more powerful split-system installation.
Also, split-system ACs are preferred more than stand-alone units when it comes to wall-mounted air conditioners. According to their working principle, one coil is fitted inside the smaller and quieter device inside the room for collecting the heat from the room and the other coil is fitted inside the bigger and louder device outdoors for expelling the warm air.
The device located inside the room is smaller and aesthetic and the device fitted outside with the compressor is larger and noisy. This is why split-style wall-mounted ACs make lesser noise indoors.
3.Floor-mounted Air Conditioners
These split-style air conditioners have the same structure and functionality as wall-mounted ACs as discussed above. Here, the only difference lies in the fact that they are fitted on the floors.
The smaller and quieter shell is installed indoors on the floor, while the bigger and louder shell is installed outdoors for dissipating the warm air. Just like all other split-style air conditioners, these units make lesser noise inside your room and result in faster cooling.
4.Ceiling Air Conditioners
As the name suggests, these air conditioners are fitted onto the ceiling of your room. In design, they are cassette-like devices are attached to the ceiling with invisible air pipes connecting to the outdoor device for letting out the warm air.
Owing to their powerful cooling abilities and compact design, these air conditioners are commonly used in offices. As opposed to other units, these air conditioners do not stick out of the walls/ceiling/floor of the room and blend seamlessly with the ceiling.
In most cases, the power of ceiling air conditioners is attached to a central airflow, resulting in much faster and powerful cooling. To put things in perspective, one ceiling air conditioner possesses the cooling power of five windows and seven portable air conditioners!
However, it is important to note that purchasing and installing these air conditioners would cost you a considerable amount of money.
5.Split-system Portable Air Conditioners
If you are looking for an air conditioner to provide you with instant cooling, is easily portable, and makes less noise in your room, you can go for split-system portable air conditioners.
The basic structure and working of these air condition units are similar to the stand-alone portable air conditioners. The only difference, in this case, is that the generator (compressor) of the appliance is located outside your room, making sure that the shell inside your room does not make much noise.
Also, these air conditioners cool your room faster and more powerfully than the stand-alone units. You can upgrade your portable air conditioners to being split-system units by adding around a hundred dollars extra.
Hybrid Air Conditioners
Traditionally, there are two types of technology people look for while purchasing an air conditioner – conventional and inverter. In recent times, the technology of solar thermal hybrid air conditioning is being preferred by several customers for an eco-friendly cooling experience.
These air conditioners function on the hybrid principle. Here, a vacuum solar collector is used for heating the inner medium of the appliance. This results in the refrigerant from the compressor getting heated and going through a copper coil inside the collector.
This heated refrigerant then goes through a cyclical process within the system for both heating and cooling purposes. Hybrid air conditioners involve using a four-fold heat exchanger as a key component in the appliance.
Its heat-effective portion is increased by 20%-30% instead of the usual V-type and flat plate heat exchanger for improved cooling capacity.
As these air conditioners capture the thermal energy of the sun, the load taken by the condenser reduces, thereby improving the performance of the compressor.
In short, the hybrid air conditioners make use of solar energy in running their systems and circulating the air for cooling down your room in an energy-efficient way.
These are all the major types of air condition units that can be installed for residential or commercial purposes. Before you make the decision of purchasing an air conditioner, it is advisable to consider aspects like the use of the device, your budget requirements, preferred design, the structure of your room, and many more.
Now that you are thorough with the different types of air conditioners, let us move on to air conditioner maintenance.
How To Maintain Your Air Conditioner?
Along with availing of the cooling and refreshing benefits of your air conditioner, it is important to look after the appliance and make sure it is well-maintained.
It is common for air conditioners to lose their cooling power and/or speed by the time summers are about to end. This is often because of the excessive use of air conditioners throughout the season. It is advisable to look for professional help if you want to improve air conditioning efficiency.
If you tend to ignore smaller irregularities without taking maintenance measures, they are likely to get worse and cause trouble in the future. It is important for every customer to be aware of basic air conditioning maintenance to mend trivial issues without facing any hassle.
So, how to maintain an air conditioner?
Here are the three basic steps you should take to maintain your air conditioner and ensuring that it keeps giving you cool and fresh air:
1.Making Sure Of The Placement
The placement of your air conditioner plays an important role in its functioning and maintenance. The most basic step in air conditioner maintenance is to check where your appliance is placed in your room.
It is never advisable to have your air conditioner fitted at a location where it receives direct sunlight. Especially in the case of window ACs, being in contact with direct sunlight makes the system run harder than it is required to, increasing the chances of wearing out.
It is advisable to place your air conditioner at a cooler location within your room. If you have already installed it in a position where it receives direct sunlight, you can shield the inner portion of the device with the help of blinds or a piece of cloth, if possible.
In addition to this, it is advisable to place your air conditioner away from heat-generating objects like television, lamps, etc. The farther you place your AC from heat, the longer it will last without troubling you.
2.Avoiding Dust Accumulation
Accumulation of dust and dirt often results in air conditioners losing their cooling power.
All air conditioners used for residential purposes are fitted with a filter behind their front grill. You need to make sure that this filter is clean at all times. It is very common for this filter to get clogged by dust and dirt.
If you notice any irregularity with your air conditioner, slowly take the filter out and clean the dust off the same (preferably by washing the filter with warm soapy water). Let the filter dry before reinstalling it into the appliance.
In case the filter is damaged, it is advisable to buy a new one.
3.Efficient Programming
It is a common habit of most customers to keep the AC temperature way lower than it is normally required. This often results in wearing out of the machine faster.
If you want to maintain your air conditioner in the best way possible, program it efficiently. Do not reduce the temperature of the appliance just because it allows you to do so. Set the temperature that is accurate for the room. A lot of brands recommend ideal room temperatures, too.
How To Keep Your Air Conditioner Safe?
As mentioned earlier, air conditioners tend to wear out most by the time summers end. It is important to keep your AC safe from all threats and damages to ensure that it lasts longer and you can keep availing of its benefits.
High temperatures are the most common reasons behind the failure of your air conditioner. If you fail to maintain your appliance and save it from excessive heating, it can not only stop the device from working but also increases the risk of fire hazards.
Apart from the risk of fire, irresponsible maintenance of air conditioning can result in a number of unfortunate incidents like electrocution, lacerations, back injuries, sprains, and abrasions. Air conditioner safety is, therefore, of utmost importance.
It is important to keep yourself and the ones you love safe from the hazards caused by inadequate maintenance of air conditioners.
Here are some of the most important air conditioner safety tips to keep in mind at all times from the moment you get an air conditioner installed at your place:
- Keep changing the air filter by taking it out of the grill on a regular basis for reducing the strain on your device.
- Prevent the use of an extension cord that has gotten overheated to avoid a fire hazard.
- Always make sure that there is an adequate power supply to your air conditioner.
- Always make sure that the space around your Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit is not in the vicinity of flammable items.
- It is advisable to get your HVAC system inspected by a professional at least once or twice a year.
- Check the fan and cooling unit on an occasional basis for making sure that all the cords and plugs are in a safe condition.
- Inculcate the habit of reaching out to professionals in case of the smallest irregularities and damages occurring to your appliance.
Air conditioner safety should be given utmost importance and complete attention before and after getting the appliance installed at your place.
Now that we have covered all the important aspects pertaining to air conditioners, let us shift the discussion to the maintenance and increasing efficiency of refrigerators.
Refrigerators
A refrigerator is one of the most commonly and frequently used electrical appliances at home. It is no longer a device that is merely used for storing edible items.
Today, refrigerators are used for keeping fruits and vegetables fresh, making desserts, controlling the temperature of the device, and many other purposes. It is essential to look after refrigerator maintenance to ensure its longer life.
How To Maintain Your Refrigerator?
Here are some of the most important refrigeration maintenance tips that would allow you to avail of its benefits for a longer period of time:
Maintaining The Temperature
It is always advisable to keep checking the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer sections, making sure that they are maintained at appropriate levels. This helps you in keeping your food fresh and keeps your appliance efficient.
Ideally, the right range of temperature to be maintained for your refrigerator is between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and zero degrees for the freezer. In case you have an older model that does not show you the temperature, you can get a refrigerator thermometer to keep a track of its temperature.
Cleaning The Coils
The condition of coils affects the overall functioning of your refrigerator to a great extent. Coils are generally located at the bottom or at the back of the appliance.
Always make sure that the coils are clean and free of dust, debris, or any other form of contamination. Just like clean AC filters are essential for the efficient functioning of your air conditioner, clean coils are essential for the efficient functioning of your refrigerator.
Although vacuum cleaner attachment and/or brush can be used for cleaning the coils, you can get a coil-cleaning tool for cleaning refrigerator coils, too. Make sure that you clean the coils at least two times every year.
Monitoring The Gasket
The gasket is a commonly overlooked but highly essential element in a refrigerator. It is responsible for creating a vacuum between the inner cold temperature and the outer warm temperature.
If your gasket stops working, there are chances of the cold air escaping the refrigerator, affecting the freshness of the items stored within. This would make your device work harder to compensate for the loss, increasing its chances of wearing out soon.
If the gasket is torn or damaged, it is advisable to get it replaced as soon as possible. Also, make sure that you clean and wash it with warm soapy water regularly for keeping clean.
Changing Filters
Most users are not aware of the fact that the filters used in ice makers and water dispensers in a fridge need to be changed from time to time.
Based on the refrigerator model you own, it is advisable to check the specific guidelines provided by the manufacturer for changing these filters to ensure the healthy functioning of your fridge.
Remembering Closing The Door
Probably one of the most basic but highly overlooked refrigerator maintenance tips to remember closing the door of your fridge. If you keep the door open for way too long, the cold air maintained at a set temperature inside escapes, hampering the balance within.
This results in the refrigerator trying too hard to regain the balance and might wear off in an attempt of doing so. Once your fridge starts showing clear signs of damage, it would take a lot of your time and money to get the issue resolved.
Instead, you can always remember to close the door whenever you are done with the work!
Covering Your Food
This might seem a nitpicky tip for maintaining your refrigerator, but it is good for your appliance in the long run.
If you keep your food uncovered, the moisture content within the fridge will increase, causing damage to your device. It is always advisable to cover all your food items in zip-pouches, containers, and bags to avoid unwanted contamination of moisture inside your appliance.
Do Not Leave The Compartments Empty
Filling the fridge compartments more than required is never healthy for the functioning of your device. Having said that, leaving more compartments empty is not a healthy practice, too.
If you fill all the compartments of your refrigerator with the right number of items, it allows the fridge to keep the existing items fresh and operate in an effective manner. However, make sure that you do not over-stuff the compartments or block the vents while adding items into the fridge.
Remember To Empty The Ice
When it comes to maintaining your refrigerator, it is the small activities that matter the most. One such activity is that of emptying the ice from the ice department on a regular basis.
It is a common occurrence that the ice lying at the top of the dispenser is taken out more frequently while the ice lying at the bottom starts getting stale. Forgetting to empty the ice from the dispenser is not only beneficial for the effective operation of the fridge but also for the quality of the ice used.
Whether you have immediate use of ice or not, it is always advisable to empty the entire dispenser and fill it with fresh water on a regular basis.
Avoid Putting Hot Items Into The Fridge
It is never a good idea to keep piping hot food items into the refrigerator. In doing so, you will disrupt the temperature balance of your fridge by increasing the overall temperature of the inner compartments.
This will lead to the refrigerator applying more power than required to cool the items down, increasing the chances of wearing out of the machine. Also, immediately cooling down extremely hot food is not healthy for the food as well.
It is always advisable to cool your food down a little (almost to room temperature) before placing it into the refrigerator.
Placement Of The Refrigerator
Just like an air conditioner, the placement of your refrigerator affects its efficiency and should be considered as an important aspect of refrigerator maintenance.
Unless you are left with no option, always try to keep your refrigerator away from items giving out heat, such as oven, heater, etc. This increases the overall temperature of your fridge and forces the device to draw more power than required for maintaining the balance.
Keep all these aspects in mind if you want to keep your refrigerator running and continue to have fresh food from the same.
How To Increase The Efficiency Of Your Refrigerator?
Refrigerators are those appliances that are generally bought for a longer period of time. When you purchase the device, you expect it to work efficiently at least for a few years before it starts showing signs of damage and wearing off.
Here are some of the important ways in which you can improve refrigerator efficiency in a sustainable manner:
Allowing Air Circulation
Always make sure that there is enough space around the condenser coils of your refrigerator for increasing its efficiency. If the condenser coils are situated behind your fridge, make sure that there is a decent gap between the fridge and a wall behind it.
If the coils are located at the bottom of your refrigerator, make sure that the bottom of the fridge does not directly touch the ground. You can keep the device on a stand with nothing in between to keep a gap between the coils and the floor.
This will help you keep the coils clean and facilitate the right amount of air circulation essential for the long life of your appliance.
Regular Defrosting
This is applicable especially for the older models of refrigerators. Whenever the built-up ice in the freezer exceeds a certain limit, it is always advisable to defrost the device and allow all the ice to melt for improved performance.
Excessive frost and accumulate ice is never good for your refrigerator. It hampers the cooing process and increases the chances of wearing out in an attempt to restore a balance.
Refrigerators allow users to defrost both manually and automatically. Although both ways have their own benefits, manual defrosting consumes lesser energy than automatic defrosting. It is, therefore, advisable to go for manual defrosting for making it an energy-efficient process.
Reduce The Frequency Of Opening The Doors
It might seem like an inconsequential way of improving the efficiency of your refrigerator, but it is great for the well-being of your appliance in the long run.
Every time you open the door of your fridge, the inner cold air comes in contact with the outer warm air, disrupting the temperature balance of the refrigerator. Whenever there is this difference in temperature, your fridge tries to restore the balance by drawing more power than required.
If you keep opening the door on a frequent basis, the effort taken by the fridge for maintaining the balance will keep on increasing, ultimately increasing the chances of the machine wearing out.
Therefore, if you want your refrigerator to last longer and avoid paying heavy costs for repairs, try not opening the doors of your fridge on a frequent basis.
Avoid Using Older Second Refrigerators
It is common for families to keep using the older refrigerators after buying the new ones. They tend to keep the older ones in a utility room, garage, or basement.
While this makes for extra storage space, it often gets a little expensive and not so eco-friendly to keep using the older second refrigerator. Older fridges often consume greater energy and cost higher for maintaining them.
Whenever you are buying a new refrigerator, always be critical about the use of your second refrigerator. Use the older one only if you really need extra storage space. See if you can purchase a bigger new refrigerator instead of using two devices.
Moreover, if you have decided to use two refrigerators, choose the items to store in the older device very carefully. It is advisable to keep the fresher and more essential items in the new refrigerator for improved efficiency and having healthy and fresh food to eat.
Keeping Your Room Temperature In Check
Along with checking the temperature of the refrigerator for improved efficiency, it is advisable to monitor the room temperature where the appliance is placed, too.
On average, refrigerators use up to 2.5% higher energy for every 1 degree more than the normal ambient room temperature, which is measured at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, putting things in perspective, your refrigerator can use up to 20%-25% more energy in a room with 80 degrees temperature and 45%-50% more energy in a room with 90 degrees temperature.
It is, therefore, essential to keep your room temperature in control for improving the efficiency of your refrigerator. This is essential because a higher temperature would make your fridge put in more effort in doing its job, increasing the risk of wearing out.
The Anti-sweat Feature
Along with providing cooling services to your food, refrigerators also have the ability to heat up the area around the door seal (gasket) for handling condensation. This is known as the anti-sweat feature.
Although this feature is useful up to a certain extent, it uses around 5%-10% more energy than the normal requirements. This is not really a sustainable option.
For dealing with this aspect, you can watch out for the power-saving option in your refrigerator for compensating for the extra energy consumption. Also, you can see if your appliance allows you to limit the sweat-time for a win-win situation.
In other cases, you can switch off the feature when it is not required to make your device consume less energy and run more effectively.
Prepare Before Leaving The House For Long
If you are planning to leave your house for a longer period of time, it is advisable to adjust the thermostat of your refrigerator to a higher temperature. However, never turn off the appliance completely.
Keep all these aspects in mind for maintaining your refrigerator for a longer period of time and improving its efficiency to make the most of the appliance.
Electrical appliances are an integral part of our lives. They have made our everyday lives easier and added a considerable amount of utility in all our lives. It is, therefore, one’s responsibility to use them wisely and maintain them effectively.