timer plug on freezers?

beautiful_ravens

Hello.
If I put timer plugs on my 2 freezers, and set them to be off for 15 minutes 8 times in 24 hours, would this save money on the electric, or would the freezers use up extra power when they came on after being off? Im sure the food wouldnt defrost or anything in such short times.
Could i set them to be off for longer?
Just a thought...anyone know?

andrewmp

no, they have thermostats.

The_Economist

Why not use the power saving plugs?

beautiful_ravens

The_Economist wrote: »

Why not use the power saving plugs?

They cost around 16 quid, a timer plug costs a lot less. Plus, I dont understand how they know when to turn things off.

Cardew

It will save nothing if you want to keep the food at the same temperature.

Your freezer needs a certain amount of power to keep its contents at the
set temperature.

HappyMJ

Why not sell the 2 freezers you have and replace with a larger energy efficient one. It's cheaper to run one large freezer than run 2 small ones...

The_Economist

info on how they work http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/savaplug.html

The_Economist

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=534022

Fire_Fox

beautiful_ravens wrote: »

They cost around 16 quid, a timer plug costs a lot less. Plus, I dont understand how they know when to turn things off.

Where have you seen a Savaplug for £16 please? The cheapest I have seen is £20 (including postage) from eBay.

Cardew

The_Economist wrote: »

info on how they work http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/savaplug.html

You need to google this - or search on this forum.

They should not be used on most fridges and freezers

The principle of these devices is sound - the 'start up' power for the compressor motor is higher than that required when it is running. The Savaplug reduces the power.

However modern fridges have their own circuitry that does that anyway. So it is my understanding that these are only of any use on really old fridges/freezers - even then I suspect the savings are nowhere near that claimed.

A quick Google found thousands of adverts for these devices, but one independent report which stated:

Quote:
July 2006 A solution to reduce energy used by Fridges is no longer recommended The SavaPlug device used to be sold as a device to reduce the energy used by fridges and freezers. The technology involved reducing the voltage supplied to a fridge once the compressor motor was running, when less power is needed to keep it operating. This would work with most old style mechanical fridges. However more modern fridges have internal controls to reduce overall energy consumption and the introduction of devices like the SavaPlug is not recommended and may be harmful. This is probably why the device appears to be no longer being sold.
Personally I would be wary of using one without clearing it with the manufacturer.

Nothing in life is simple!

Even their own website states

A Savaplug should not be fitted
to any appliance other than a fridge, freezer or fridge freezer and is not suitable for refrigeration appliances that incorporate electronic controls including digital temperature display.

If your appliance is not compatible, it may be that your appliance may already incorporate the technology that Savaplug uses – this is especially true of newer energy saving models.

There follows a long list of models.

I doubt if there are many fridges and freezers produced in the last 20 years that they will work on.

Ken68

A government spokeman talked about this the other night on TV , echoing Post 4 here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ipm/2008/11/dynamic_demand_best_kept_energ.shtml