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Old 06-24-2009, 11:32 AM   #13 (permalink)
JacobAziza
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 397

Big Orange Work Truck - '83 Ford F-250
90 day: 27.54 mpg (US)

Jessica's - '04 Toyota Matrix
90 day: 41.21 mpg (US)

Ninjette - '01 Kawasaki Ninja EX250R
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I don't know about energy star rated specifically, but modern fridge/freezers still waste a lot of energy for minor conveniences.

Fridge/freezers made for off-the-grid homes are much superior to even energy star rated models.
They will tend to do things like:
-Put the cooling coils on the top (because heat rises - many modern fridges put them on the bottom so it looks better, but since heat rises, it just goes right back into the unit)
-Have thicker insulation
-Manual defrosting every so often (modern fridges don't need to be defrosted because they actually put tiny heaters on the cooling coils!!!!!!!!

Some (like mine) don't use a compressor at all. They use the ammonia gas-absorption cycle to transfer heat. No moving parts at all, and can be run on either 120v electricity, 12v, or propane.
They can use less than 1/10th the electricity of a standard energy star rated fridge/freezer.

The ones made for off the grid solar houses tend to be pretty expensive up front, but if you can find one made for an RV big enough for your needs, they are the same design but cheaper.

2nd to what Honda said - don't turn a fridge on its side, you can damage the compressor if gravity drains the coolant the wrong way.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw View Post
A few months ago I returned home just as my neighbor pulled into his driveway. It was cold (around freezing) with some rain and sleet, and he yells to me: You rode your bike? In this weather?!?

So the other day we both returned home at the same time again, only now the weather is warm, sunny, with no wind. And I yell to him: You took the car? In this weather?!?

Last edited by JacobAziza; 06-24-2009 at 09:25 PM..
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