When you buy a
fridge freezer
you should consider your shopping habits and the size of your household. You should also make sure that the fridge freezer is energy efficient to avoid running up high electricity bills.
For quite a lot of freezing you may find that equal sized fridge and freezer suit you best. If you do not freeze that many things it is usually better to have a larger fridge and smaller freezer. The most energy efficient fridge freezers use less than 25% of energy compared to 15 years ago.
Cooling agent – look out for environmentally friendly gases
CFC gas used to be the most common cooling agent though it is no longer used since leaks are harmful to the ozone layer. Other gases that do not interfere with the ozone layer are frequently used though these contribute to global warming instead. An increasing number of manufacturers are using natural gases as cooling agents such as Isobutene (R600A). Natural gases are better from an environmental point of view since they have no harmful effects on neither the ozone layer or on global warming.
Energy Labelling
All fridge freezers have to be labelled with the ratio of energy consumption in relation to volume. Look out for Energy Efficiency ratings ranging from A – G where A is the most efficient.
Size
Size depends on where you are going to store the freezer and how much storage space you need inside it. You should try to estimate how much space you need in the freezer based on what you currently store and what you would like to store in addition to that. Try not to buy too big a freezer since any wasted space incurs unnecessary energy expenditure.
Freezing Capacity
This is an indication of the amount the freezer can freeze per 24 hours, usually shown in kilograms.
Temperature
Freezers keep food at –18C ° and fast freeze at –26C°. Fast freezing is the optimum freezing temperature for fresh food to retain most of its nutritional value. It is important to keep the freezer temperature constant in order not to increase energy expenditure - every degree below - 18°C increases energy expenditure by 5%.
What do I do with my old fridge freezer?
Ask you local council for details of how to depose an old fridge freezer. An old fridge freezer may contain CFC gases that are harmful and the unit should be destroyed
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