What You Should Know

• In California, about 17% of your electricity use goes to your refrigerator or freezer.
• It's better to keep your refrigerator and freezer as full as you can because food retains cold better than air does. But don't overcrowd it; the cold air needs to circulate.
• Capping containers that hold liquids keeps down the humidity inside the refrigerator and reduces the amount of water that accumulates in the pan under the unit.
• You can move food you need to defrost from the freezer to the refrigerator a day before you need it. That way, the frozen food gives the motor a break in cooling the refrigerator as it thaws.
  

Easy Things You Can Do

• Keep your refrigerator and freezer at the right temperature. If they are only 10° colder than necessary, your energy consumption will go up an amazing 25%. By keeping an eye on the temperature, you can keep a lid on energy use. The refrigerator should be between 38° F and 42° F and the freezer between 0° F and 5° F.
  

• No Sweat. Use the "power-saver" switch if your refrigerator has one. It controls a small heater built into the face of the narrow panel that divides the freezer from the refrigerator to keep water droplets from forming on the panel in humid weather. Turn the heater off except when it's humid.
• Manual defrost refrigerators should be defrosted regularly. A 1/4-inch buildup of frost makes the motor work harder.