How you can make your fridge more effective

Modern day refrigerators are far more efficient than they used to be, but they still draw a lot of power—often more than any other appliance in your home. If you really want to save money on your energy bill—and limit your environmental impact—you should probably upgrade to a more efficient model. Below are steps you can take to make your existing machine more utility-friendly. Follow this guide to cut down on your fridge's energy use, and save some money while you're at it.

Keep it Cool—But Not Too Cool

Obviously you want your fridge to be cold (that's the whole point, isn't it?), but you don't want it to be too cold. The lower the temperature setting, the more energy the fridge has to use to maintain that temperature. The same goes for your freezer. An ideal setting is 37°F for the fridge, and 0°F for the freezer.

Keep it Stocked

Empty fridge space helps no one. It looks depressing, limits your culinary options, and—perhaps worst of all—makes your fridge work harder to regulate temperature and humidity. The same goes for your freezer. Food and drink hangs on to cold better than air, so the more solids and liquids in your fridge, the less work it has to do to keep temperatures low. The takeaway here is simple: Keep your fridge (and freezer) stocked.

Water will retain low temperatures more or less as well as food.

If, for whatever reason, you don't have enough food to stock the whole fridge, just fill some bottles or containers with water and place them throughout the cavity. The same strategy can be used in your freezer.

Seal Foods to Prevent Evaporation

There are a couple of takeaways here. For one thing, this means you shouldn't store fruits (which require moisture to prevent spoilage) in the main cavity. That's what the crisper drawers are for. For another, it means excessive moisture in the fridge forces the machine to work harder to draw it out.
To prevent buildup of excess moisture, you should seal leftovers and other moist foods in airtight containers. It's a small but important measure if you're serious about maximizing fridge efficiency.

Let Food Cool

This one should be obvious, but we'll remind you anyway: Don't put hot food into your fridge. While you shouldn't let that casserole or pot of chili sit around too long, you can wait a while for it to cool to at least room temp. Don't put fresh, hot food in your fridge. Why would you do that? Because your fridge goes into overdrive when it has to absorb residual heat. It's a far more pressing concern than external factors like dusty coils.Most experts recommend letting hot food cool for no more than two hours before popping it in the fridge. Any longer than that could lead to contamination.