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A lot of people buy a new fridge or am told they do anyway because they have made huge strides in power consumption *and rightfully so*. But what do I know? I guess I'm too snarky ... The reason to me (personally) and I looked at the bottom mounted freezer ... Is they are a lot more money and sales people try to to tell you that they are more effient that a cheaper fridge so they can sell you a more expensive fridge. So I guess I should have just stated that power consumption is almost identical to a top freezer fridge. Tho if you like having it on the bottom no reason not too. It's still a good fridge. Sorry if I offended your fridge.
Sorry if my comments sounded a bit one sided for you. I think when paying the highest electrical rates in the nation ... One should carefully consider an appliance that is probably the the second or third, #1, for me appliance in the home that consumes the most electricity.
Excuse me if I think it's important. :/
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when ever I hit the back button on chrome I get a double post. Sigh
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I was thinking of a small(er) size refrigerator/top freezer and a chest freezer would be the most efficient.
BTW, what's the average lifespan of a refrigerator, say within a block from the ocean? I heard at one time not to expect more than five years before some pretty serious repairs are needed.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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quote:
Originally posted by ericlp... I think when paying the highest electrical rates in the nation ... One should carefully consider an appliance that is probably the the second or third, #1, for me appliance in the home that consumes the most electricity.
Excuse me if I think it's important. :/
and this is exactly why I am asking questions of all the smarty pants [
] here. After we get our appliances replaced and the new VSP pump for the pool, and the solar hot water heater, then we are going to have the solar companies re-do their bids based on that electric usuage. They have been doing this week based on current needs and I kept trying to tell them not current, but FUTURE... so I gotta make the future happen, so I can get the then "current" usage.
Since we are starting from scratch on the fridge and have a couple of weeks to check them all out for energy savings and also ease of use I thought I would ask questions. I do appreciate all the input!
I ruled out the french door aspect because of the comments here and my hubby said NO... doesnt work well over time.
We are torn on the upstairs / downstairs freezer. No side by side.
and ice/water or no ice/water - maybe just ice is the deal.
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If, as ericlp claims, there are not huge differences in power consumption in top or bottom freezers, the most important factor may be what kinds of food you eat, and how they fit in each. It makes sense to put the foods you eat the most up top.
We eat fairly few frozen processed foods, but do eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and like to keep cold beverages stocked. The bottom freezer makes the foods we eat the most of the easiest to access. When we switched from a top freezer we noticed reduced waste of expensive fresh foods, especially produce. We also make better use of leftovers because they are easy to see as well.
I use a lot of ice, but it is easy to reach in the bottom freezer and I don't mind filling ice cube trays, it takes me about 2 minutes tops.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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French door top, Roll-out freezer bottom with extra slide-out shelf. Ice maker if you use alot of ice. [:o)][:o)]
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I've already given you my two cents, but here's and extra penny's worth of food for thought. We recently gave away our chest freezer not because it was more or less energy efficient, but because it was a pain in the neck. Or, more accurately, a pain in the back. Just like Christmas lights tie themselves up in knots while in storage, frozen foods in a chest-type freezer migrate downwards whenever the lid is shut. No matter what item you want to retrieve, you will inevitably have to bend over and take out countless unrelated items until you can locate the one thing you want (assuming you can even remember what you have in there). It's like dumpster diving in an air-conditioned dumpster. I suspect you'd have the same issue, tho to a smaller degree, in many bottom freezer ice boxes. I prefer side by side because you can have both frozen and cold food at eye level, and the ability of food to get buried is lessened to a large degree.