Instinctively, you might think that a full fridge consumes more energy than an almost empty fridge. To be sure, you have to take an interest in how this device works, which has become essential to our daily lives.
The Appliances so-called cold (fridge or freezer) account for about a quarter of the power consumption of French households. Consumption that varies depending on the model of fridge chosen, of course. The larger the capacity of the appliance, the more it will consume: around 100 kWh per year for a refrigerator table-top to nearly 1,000 kWh per year for a American refrigerator.
Other criteria also influence the consumption of a fridge: its age, its location – near or not a source of heat, in particular – or its state of maintenance and of course, its energy class. Thus a classic class A + refrigerator will consume some 200 kWh per year while a class C refrigerator will rather consume around 400 kWh per year.
A correct filling level to save the compressor
Finally, you should know that the more a fridge is empty, the more it consumesenergy. How is it possible ? Because a fridge does not produce cold. It captures the heat that is inside and evacuates it to the outside through circulation in a closed circuit, a Refrigerant. When it absorbs heat from food, it becomes gaseous. A compressor then makes it possible to compress this gas before expelling it into a condenser by raising its temperature. The stored heat is then evacuated when the gas returns to liquid. And in the expansion valve, the temperature of this liquid decreases further.
However, in a full fridge, the temperature varies less. Thus the compressor is triggered less. And the fridge consumes less energy. Be careful not to fall into the extreme though. Because in a fridge too full, theair is struggling to circulate and consumption is on the rise again.
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