Fridges: FAQs
What temperature should I keep my fridge at?
Keep your fridge between 0 and 5oC
Between 0°C and 5°C. Any warmer and the food will go off, any colder and you'll lose nutrients and fresh food can be ruined.
Can I keep my fridge in the garage?
Every fridge has a 'climate class'. This tells you the range of room temperatures in which the model is designed to work.
Fridges used in temperatures above or below these limits might not work properly. Eg the freezer compartment might defrost if the room temperature becomes too low.
For this reason, appliances shouldn't be kept in unheated garages and sheds. At least, that's the theory – in practice, plenty of people get away with this quite happily.
How much energy do fridges consume?
Refrigeration products account for around 20% of the electricity consumed by domestic appliances, so it's hardly surprising the government is continually urging manufacturers and consumers to produce and buy higher rated energy efficient appliances.
EU energy labelling of cold appliances has been in place for more than a decade with ratings ranging from the ultra-efficient A++ to the positively power-hungry G classifications.
Fridge energy ratings are not simply a calculation of the amount of electricity consumed by the appliance over a period of time; they take into account other factors including the capacity, style and features of each fridge, which combine to produce a single rating that can be easily interpreted by consumers.
Capacity is an important factor; if you currently run 2 worktop-height fridges it would usually be more efficient to consolidate your groceries into one tall fridge, but it's only worth trading up to a tall fridge if you're likely to keep it around two-thirds full.
Is it worth going for an energy-efficient fridge?
Cooling appliances notch up a staggering £1.2 billion in electricity bills each year. After central heating, they're the biggest domestic users of energy, because they're on all the time.
So when you're ready to replace a fridge, it is worth looking for A+ or A++ rated appliances, which are the most energy-efficient and cheapest to run.
Will my fridge damage the ozone layer?
Some fridge-freezers carry labels claiming they are 'ozone friendly', but that's not always the whole story.
Many fridges use a cooling agent (or refrigerant) called R600a which neither affects ozone nor is a significant greenhouse gas. So far, so good.
However, others use a refrigerant called R134a. This is better for the ozone layer than CFCs (which are now banned), but it's still a greenhouse gas. So it still contributes significantly to global warming.
How do I dispose of my old fridge?
You can get rid of an unwanted fridge through the retailer supplying your new model or through your local council.
Under regulations stemming from the European WEEE Directive, retailers – including Comet, John Lewis Argos and Iceland – have to pay for the recycling of fridges and the upgrade of local civic amenity sites to handle unwanted electrical appliances. The same rules apply to online retailers.
Many large chains run schemes which will pick up an old appliance free of charge when a new model is delivered. Smaller retailers will probably ask you to drop the unwanted fridge off at a nearby civic amenity site.
Your local authority has a responsibility to take your old fridge away, but it's a bit of a postcode lottery. Some councils offer free collection, others charge up to £30. If you can take the fridge to your local tip yourself, though, there should be no charge.
For more information on WEEE and how you can ensure unwanted electrical products are disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner, download the Environment Agency's householder factsheet.
How can I store food safely?
- Buy a fridge thermometer and check the temperature from time to time. The thermostat dial should be set so the temperature is somewhere between 0oC and 5oC.
- Don't open the fridge more often than necessary or leave the door open.
- Refrigerate perishables, prepared foods and leftovers as soon as possible. But don't put hot food in the fridge – allow it to cool down first.
- Clean the fridge regularly and defrost the icebox or freezer regularly.
- Don't fill the fridge to bursting point – this restricts air circulation and can make it harder to maintain a cool temperature.
- Pay attention to food storage instructions and use-by dates.
- Don't store cooked and raw meat near each other, to avoid cross-contamination.
- Store raw meat, poultry and fish at the bottom of the fridge, above the crisper drawers.