KEEPING your freezer filled up can help reduce your energy bills by reducing your energy consumption.
And now households could cut their energy bills by making a single adjustment to the way in which they fill their freezer.
1
A cold tap and a plastic bag that holds water is all you need.
Kitchen appliances add hundreds to household energy bills every year – and your fridge freezer isn’t exempt.
And with bills on the rise, it’s useful to know how much your appliances cost to run if you want to cut back on costs.
From October, energy prices for a average household will rise from £1,971 to £2,500, under the new Energy Price Guarantee.
The average integrated fridge freezer currently costs £73 to run, which will rise to £77 in October, according to USwitch.
But you can still keep costs down by ensuring that your freezer is running at maximum efficiency.
Sam Whillance, savings expert at discounts platform Deal.Town, explained to the Express how Britons can save money while using these.
The expert claimed that keeping your freezer full helps keep your bills down because it stops the appliance from having to draw more energy to keep the compartment cold.
Most read in Money
He said: “Most of the energy your freezer uses goes towards cooling down the air that comes in when you open the freezer door.
“So, when your freezer is full, there is less room for warmer air to come in, and the items that are in there will help to cool down any warmer air that does sneak in.”
The Energy Saving Trust confirmed this and a spokesperson said that “your fridge freezer works best when it’s three quarters full.”
But if you don’t have enough food to keep your freezer full don’t panic.
Sam recommends placing a bag of water on the middle shelf to take up some of the empty space.
He said: “If you do not have enough food inside the freezer to keep it full, using things such as plastic bags filled with water, ice blocks or even just bags of ice can help prevent warmer air from entering.”
If you don’t have a plastic bag to spare of your freezer has drawers that make it more difficult to place this – consider filling the freezer with plastic bottles of water.
But according to The Energy Saving Trust you should “avoid” over-filling overfilling the fridge as this will prevent the circulation of colder air.
And if your fridge is full of ice, you may find that it will add to already high energy bills.
Ice acts as an insulator which makes your fridge work harder, so it’ll cost more to run.
The Energy Saving Trust recommends “defrosting your fridge and freezer regularly to optimise performance.”
Keep fridge freezers clean to save £45 a year
Freestanding and American models cost £84 and £120 respectively to run, which will increase to £89 and £127 a year from October.
To ensure your fridge freezer is running as efficiently as possible, clean the condenser coils on the back, as dust on the coils can prevent the fridge from cooling properly.
Replace damaged door seals to ensure cold air cannot escape and be wasted and let food cool down completely before refrigerating.
Not keeping your fridge freezer clean could cost a whopping £45 more each year.
If you’re looking to replace an old model with a new eco friendly version you could save £138 on your energy bills each year.
