FRIDGE freezers are one of the most energy-guzzling appliances in your home but it’s possible to reduce how much they use.

The kitchen appliance uses up a lot of electricity because it’s on 24/7, 365 days a year and can’t be switched off without spoiling your food.

Fridge freezers can add a lot of money to your energy bills

1

Fridge freezers can add a lot of money to your energy bills

Gas and electricity bills have soared after the energy price cap rose 54% to £1,971 on April 1.

The hike has added £700 to the average household’s annual energy bill.

That means thousands of households are struggling with the rise cost of living.

You can’t turn your fridge freezer off unless it’s empty and you’re going away.

Common energy myths like painting radiators DON'T help save you money
Full list of energy standing charges revealed including Octopus and British Gas

But there are other ways to save money on your energy costs and you don’t need to switch off the fridge.

We explain how to cut back on your fridge freezer energy bills.

Is it in the wrong place?

Placing a fridge freezer in a cool and ventilated area will mean it uses around 216kWh less energy a year – saving you around £60.

This is because refrigeration appliances require ventilation to work properly.

Most read in Money

Without ventilation it has to work harder to keep your food cold, which costs more money.

Bad ventilation could cause it to break, and repairing or replacing it will be costly.

Remove anything stored on top of your appliance to prevent warm air from becoming trapped.

Make sure nothing is stored around the outside of your fridge at the bottom so cool air can reach it without obstruction.

Try to avoid putting it in a stuffy room with no windows or doors and don’t sit your fridge in direct sunlight where heat will beam on the appliance throughout the day.

Find the coolest spot in your kitchen, and make sure there’s room between the back of the appliance and the wall by at least 10cm to allow the coils to work most efficiently.

Leave space between your fridge freezer and your cooker or other hot appliances as they will heat it up.

Check the temperature

Your fridge temperature should be set between 3 and 5°C, and for your freezer it’s -18 °C, according to Uswitch.

Those temperatures are recommended to keep your food cool and at a healthy and safe level without being so cold that your fridge has to work any harder than it needs to.

If your fridge freezer is on a colder setting than that, you could be wasting money.

Check what temperature it’s set to and change it if you need to.

Buy an energy efficient model

Some fridge freezers are more expensive to run than others.

If you’re on the look out for a new one, make sure you check its energy efficiency rating before you buy it.

You can also work out how many units of energy it will use throughout the year.

A kWh of electricity currently costs 28p on average, so just multiply the annual kWh by 0.28 to get the cost.

The figure you get will be a rough estimate of how much the fridge freezer will cost to run.

For example, if a fridge freezer used 175 kWh a year, it would cost £49 to run.

That’s an average cost and the actual amount will depend on your energy tariff, where you live and how much energy your fridge freezer uses.

Keep it closed

Keep the door shut to stop unwanted draughts too.

When you’re taking food out of the fridge try and get in and out as quickly as you can.

Every time the fridge door is opened, cold air escapes and warmer air enters and this exchange pushes up the temperature inside so the fridge has to work harder.

It’ll use more energy to get back down to temperature and cost more on your bills.

You should also make sure the seals on the door are working to keep the temperature steady.

Don’t overfill it

Don’t overfill your fridge with meals and snacks as it will have to work harder to keep everything cool.

Make sure you only buy what you need from the shops – which can also help you take control of your spending.

Experts at Energyhelpline told The Sun: “Unclutter your fridge, so make sure your fridge isn’t packed to the brim.

“Especially near the ventilating outlets as keeping space at the top and sides of your fridge helps the cool air move around easier.”

But with that said you shouldn’t leave it empty either.

If you haven’t got any goods in the fridge then it will be working for nothing – that’s especially the case when you go on holiday.

If you’re off on your travels and you’re leaving nothing behind, make sure to switch off the fridge, otherwise it could be wasting energy for absolutely no benefit.

Having frost build up in your freezer is also bad news for your energy bills.

It increases the amount of work your freezer’s motor has to do.

And if the motor is working harder, then this means it’s using more energy.

Putin could declare new world war within DAYS, warns Defence Secretary
The One Show fans all have the same complaint about Rob and Romesh interview

Checking the energy efficiency rating of other white goods like washing machines could help you save money.

Find out which vampire appliances you should switch off this Bank Holiday to cut your bills.

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team?

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk

You May Also Like

How the leap year will affect your Universal Credit payments today revealed

THE short month of February is a blessing for hard-up households as…

Households issued urgent warning about £650 cost of living payment

HOUSEHOLDS who are waiting for their £650 cost of living payment have…

Can I stop my neighbours using their flat roof as an unofficial terrace?

I live in the ground floor flat of a Victorian terraced house.…

Engineer Weir Group rocked by ransomware hacking attack

Weir Group – which specialises in mining – said last night that…