Fridges, false economy, or....

[gunnarsilins]

....not?
What do you people think, is it false economy to switch the fridge off during the night?
Will the extra drain in the morning exceed the savings gained during the night?

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[Evadne]

Your fridge gains heat (loses its cool?) at a rate dependant on the temperature difference between inside & out. In general, I reckon you'll only be saving energy if the internal fridge temperature comes up to ambient for a time. Since the ambient temperature at night may be acceptable for food storage, this may be OK.
Cooling things that are kept near the desired temperature (as in a running fridge) is, however, thermodynamically more efficient than cooling them down from a high temperature so if your lagging is so efficient that the fridge never gets to ambient temperature by morning, and you then switch it back on, you may actually use more energy than leaving it on all night. But not much, I'd guess, because if that were the case then your fridge would hardly ever need to switch on its compressor anyway.
For a more detailed explanation please consult a practicing Physicist!


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