New Energy Star Fridge Performance

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  • autoxsteve
    autoxsteve Solar Expert Posts: 114 ✭✭✭✭
    #32
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    I received my kill-a-watt unit and our Fridge is using about a kW hour a day. Out of the 18 - 20 kWH we use each day, that's good.

    I also plugged into the washing machine and it's now drawing much (.2kWh for one load). I suspect most of our the usage is from our electric oven and lighting. I might try to go compact flourescent bulbs (5 of them) in the family room to see how much it reduces the bill (as much as I hate the compact flourescent lighting, I must say they are getting better).
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #33
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    You do have to look at both 24x7 loads like a fridge/freezer/heat/AC/pool pumps, etc., and the short term large loads (electric ovens, electric water heaters, etc.).

    A microwave running for 6 minutes a day (1kW * 0.1 hours = 0.1 kWhrs per day) might use much less power than the family computer (0.1 kW * 24h=2.4kWhr per day) left on and nobody using it.

    I found that my washer and drier using ~9 watts on standby actually used about the same amount of energy as I did to turn them on and wash/dry my cloths... Just using a power strip to turn them off between loads save 1/2 my power used... However, that is still small savings. That saved me about $4.00 over nine months.

    But, every little bit helps.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    #34
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance
    ...our Fridge is using about a kW hour a day.

    A kWh/day = 365 kWh/year... that's great! 8-)

    Regards,
    Jim / crewzer
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #35
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance
    autoxsteve wrote:
    I received my kill-a-watt unit and our Fridge is using about a kW hour a day. Out of the 18 - 20 kWH we use each day, that's good.

    What's the ambient temperature , and does it get much warmer in summer ??

    What is inside of fridge temperature set to? Size of fridge ? That will affect power consumption.

    365KWH / yr @ 0.20 = $73 year, at Los Angeles rates Nice!
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
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  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    #36
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    Update: Our no-longer-quite-so-new 22 cf fridge used 10.93 kWh over 166 hours last week - -almost 7 full days. That's 1.58 kWh/day. Averaging that with last winter's 0.99 kWh/day, it's averaging 1.285 kWh/day. That's 469 kWh/yr, or ~5% above the 448 kWh/yr spec.

    As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I suspect the low winter energy use was due to our low in-house temperature, which falls to as low as 58 F at nigt and rarely exceeds 68 F during the day. Similarly, I suspect the summer energy consumption is related to our "warm" house, which we keep at 78 F during the day and 76 F at night.

    So, it looks like we're close to spec. The big news, however, is that this one fridge has managed to replace two old ones, which together consumed ~1,650 kWh/year, or 3.5 X as much energy as the new one. Or, translating that into pocketbook-speak, we've cut our electricity bill by ~$120/yr.

    8)

    Regards,
    Jim / crewzer
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  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    #37
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    Update:

    Period: September 1 to 30, 2007 (696 hours;29 days)
    Energy Use: 36.74 kWh

    Equals 1.267 kWh/day, or 462 kWh/year. So, with cooler weather, lower humidity, and our back-to-college sons no longer raiding the fridge 25 hours/day and 8 days a week ;), the fridge is almost back to spec (1.227 kWh/day; 448 kWh/yr) , and I expect for its energy consumption to continue to fall until winter.

    It'll be interesting to see how it does over the Xmas/New Year breaks from their schools.

    HTH,
    Jim / crewzer
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  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    #38
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    Update:

    Period:November 1 to 8, 2007 (168 hours; 7 days)
    Energy Use: 7.19 kWh

    Equals 1.027 kWh/day. So, with even cooler weather and lower humidity, the fridge is back to beating spec (1.227 kWh/day; 448 kWh/yr) .

    8)

    Regards,
    Jim / crewzer
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  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    #39
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    February 01, 2008 Update:

    Period: November, 2007 through February 1, 2008 (2,208 hours; 92 days)
    Energy Use: 91.31 kWh, or 0.993 kWh/day.

    Not bad, in my view, considering that one son was home for Thanksgiving, both sons were home for "Winter break" (4 weeks for one, 5 weeks for the other), and we did some holiday entertaining.

    I monitored a compressor "power on" cycle this morning with both doors closed. The Kill-a-Watt can't capture a very short power burst, so the start up surge value wasn't displayed. Indicated power use a few seconds after compressor start was 127 W. After 5 minutes of run time, power use was down to 105 W.

    Finally, I was lucky to be able to capture three continuous months of data. We periodically suffer from gridus interruptus, and this often causes the meter to reset.

    :cool:

    Regards,
    Jim / crewzer
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  • autoxsteve
    autoxsteve Solar Expert Posts: 114 ✭✭✭✭
    #40
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    What's the ambient temperature (winter)?
    The ambient air temp out here in Ventura County (~15 mi from the sea with no mountain range or real obstructions to prevent marine layer intrusion) is in the mid 60's during the day.

    During the summer we rarely see temps over 95 deg during the day. This is why I do not have an air conditioner in my home. Couple that with repalcement double pane windows (did that in 2006) and a set back thermostat, this place really sucks!

    What is inside of fridge temperature set to? 38 deg refrig, zero deg F freezer.

    Size of fridge ? 23 cu ft side by side GE model PSI23NGN
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  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    #41
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    What's the ambient temperature (winter)? Kitchen winter temp ranges from 58 F min to 72 max. 68 is daytime typical.

    What is inside of fridge temperature set to? 38 F fridge, 1 F freezer

    Size of fridge? 22 cf

    Ventura County, eh? I used to enjoy wonderful lunches at Andria's restaurant in the harbor...

    Regards,
    Jim / crewzer
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  • Ralph Day
    Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭✭
    #42
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    Bought a Wood's 18cuft all fridge to replace a tired out Wood's 16cuft. THe old one was using just over 1kw per day, rating 1.2/day. The new one is bigger bertter and rated at .91kwh/day.

    After giving the unit a few days to settle in (meet the range etc) i Kill-a-watt metered it. the first 24 hours...480kwhrs (decimal 480), less than half what the old unit consumed! And the kicker, it cost less than the old unit did 15 years ago. $700 today dollars as opposed to $800 1993 dollars.

    Now trying to figure out how to paint the almond range to match the new white fridge. Any idears how to scuff and coat porcelain top of the range?

    Ralph
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  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    #43
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    Cool! :cool:

    Which model?

    Regards,
    Jim / crewzer
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #44
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    i'll bet it's this one.
    http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/R1813DW3.html
    are they available in the us and where?
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  • Ralph Day
    Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭✭
    #45
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    Yep Neil, that's the one. It must be available in the US, it's assembled there. THe Wood's company used to have a Canadian line and a US/foreign line, but consolidated (shut the Canadian run down) and it seems the fridge units are US made. Freezers still made in Canada i think.

    If you're willing to have your freezer as a separate unit, an all-fridge is great. This unit has "cycle defrost" which means when it stops circulating refrigerant, the evaporator plate just melts off any frost and it drains away. They have "frost free" as well, for more money, less capacity and more potential problems IMO. The ff units have a timer, fan, and i think anlittle heat element to put a definite frost removal cycle in place. They are also rated to use more power of course.

    When i saw my 1 day's use, and compared it to a Sunfrost .59kw per day, it thought about the 2 180watt panels you could buy with the extra $2300 dollars the Sunfrost costs. Sunfrost's do offer a multitude of colour options, but Henry Ford had the right idea 90 years ago...you can have any color you want as long as it's black. Wood's has white or stainless door and black cabinet. Too many choices makes my brain hurt. Looked at automobile interior/exterior options lately?

    Ralph
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #46
    Re: New Energy Star Fridge Performance

    as nice as it is i'm stuck with having only the room for a fridge/freezer combo. after you add up the electrical costs to run a seperate freezer it comes close to those with the combo anyway.:cry:
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