American Fridge Freezer - doing the maths

TheGardener

We have a Kenwood American-Style Fridge Freezer.  It is F rated and is 6 years old. Its manual says its annual energy consumption is 464 kWh. 
I have read many posts about appliances and I now know that the KWh will have deteriorated with age. 
Has anyone worked out a percentage decrease in energy efficiency per year (as a rough rule of thumb) You know - a bit like working out depreciation on a business asset type calculation? 
I'm trying to work out if I should replace it?

tacpot12

I don't think it will have deteriorated much. The compressor might have slightly worn bearings, and the insulation might have aged, but I doubt if the energy consumption has increased by more than 10%, so 500kWh a year. 

Coffeekup

Only way you'll really know is by using a £10 power monitor, or turning absolutely everything off in the house for 24 hour's and taking a meter reading before and after. However you may find it uses more this time of year as it's warmer than the winter months.

It could have also been moved on one or more occasion's and been knocked and cause some minor damage, but that's all It needs to use more than when it was new.

My current one is 5-6 years old and the manual says it uses 214kwh a year, but I know it's more like 285 units a year. Whether that's down to the manufacturer testing these appliances in perfect conditions, degrading over time or it being knocked on the day I got it I'll never know.

So the math on your meter readings and cost per unit then you'll know if it's roe to get a new more efficient one.

Mstty

I suspect, a bit like mpg of cars there were some "very loose" figures and probably engineered running the appliance Jan packed with food in both fridge and freezer and then monitored once everything had chilled and the door never opened.

As others have said the best way is an energy monitor.

dunstonh

We have a Kenwood American-Style Fridge Freezer.  It is F rated and is 6 years old. Its manual says its annual energy consumption is 464 kWh.

The new rating system came in last year.  So, an F rated fridge from 6 years ago will be G on the latest.

Has anyone worked out a percentage decrease in energy efficiency per year (as a rough rule of thumb) You know - a bit like working out depreciation on a business asset type calculation? 

it would be difficult to say. Some have their elements exposed and in dusty areas.  Others have their internals exposed and could get frosted up.   Some could suffer more wear and tear or have lower/better quality compenents.  You just cannot guess.

I'm trying to work out if I should replace it?

Take the latest C rated Samsung American FF.  That uses 225kWh p.a.  So, even if you are getting manufacturer standard on the Kenwood, that is still 239kWh extra you are paying.

Like others are saying, get yourself an energy monitor.  It is what I did and it ended up showing me mine was way higher than it should have been and it will breakeven in about 3 years.

savers_united

If you want an American style FF then you need to accept they use alot of juice. 

If you were to replace it for another amaerican style then the best you could hope for is around 250kwh per annum, but then you need to find £1600-£2000. If yours work and does everything you need it to then even in today's climate its going to take a long time to repay the Initial outlay.

Say its 200kwh saving per year at Oct new rate of 52p, £104 per year saving. Give or take its 15 year payback.

If your looking for a smaller non American style running at 200kwh per year then you would return the savings quicker. 

Alnat1

I think it's becoming obvious to many that unless you live miles away from the nearest supermarket it is much cheaper to let them store most of your chilled/frozen food until you need it. 

American fridge freezers were fine at 15p/kWh but when it's going to be 50p, 60p, 70p and the fridge is always half empty, it might be time for a rethink.

The days of chest freezers in garages, full of "bargains" that sit around for months until used are fading away. Time to delve in and see what's in there, get it eaten and turn the freezer off. 

Mstty

Yep all those kitchens designed around having a large American fridge freezer....that could be the main reason people want to replace them as otherwise the gap doesn't look right.

TheGardener

Many thanks for all the replies  @Mstty   Yes, my FF has a kitchen built around it, and anything else will not fill that space - but I could incorporate a slim set of cupboards or a rack of some sort to fill the gap.  
Its never been moved since the day it was delivered and the plug is behind it so the monitor plug would mean pulling it out and that will be tricky but not impossible.
I live near multiple supermarkets and one thing you may have noticed is 'bare bits'  on shelves - I'm more inclined to make sure I have enough of what we use at home rather than rely on a broken/struggling just-in-time distribution system (I'm very familiar with them, believe me, they are very stressed at the mo.) However, I don't have a big extra freezer, I gave that up years ago. 
I'll try the monitor plug on it and see how we go. 

EcoScruples

Alnat1 said:

The days of chest freezers in garages, full of "bargains" that sit around for months until used are fading away. Time to delve in and see what's in there, get it eaten and turn the freezer off. 

This is me exactly, I have just replaced my American whirlpool FF after 15 years (the compressor finally gave in to the hot summer) with an LG that uses just over 400kw/year. 
I like all the stuff it does in terms of space and plumbed in water/ice machine so I'm happy to pay the extra to run it.

I also have a tall upright freezer indoors with extra frozen bargains in and a chest freezer in the garage.
The garage freezer has now been eaten through and turned off for the winter to save a few £££ with the impending price cap increase.

I wouldn't advise anyone change their appliances if they're working to a more energy efficient model as that's a long payback if any.

I have noticed a drop in my baseload by around 25 watts since the new fridge and turning off the freezer.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Apparently, damage can be caused when fridges / freezers aren't defrosted often enough.  

The compressor is meant to pump refrigerant that was just evaporated in the evaporator coil inside the cavity.  

But when it's all iced-up, the refrigerant doesn't evaporate, and instead it passes to the compressor as liquid.  Liquid is incompressible, so the compressor gets worn / damaged trying to compress it, and this is when it starts sounding noisy and needs to run for longer to do the job.

At least the auto-defrost should avoid this pitfall . .