eccoing house

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by arcosine

The office extension is always cold in winter and hot in summer, its farthest from the furnace.I suspect they used less insulation during construction.

Sure some extra insulation is desirable all year-round, but have you ever considered to use an evaporative cooler during summer?

[radioranger]

I'm working on eccoing the fridge right now , first month a test with just a blanket over the top and pulled it away from the wall a bit, also freezer full of water bottles, seems to run less already , this months bill should tell if any improvement,

[ron]

radioranger-vacuum the coils under the refer thats good for a small eco gain. Criple Rooster- swamp cooling works if the humidity is low

[Daox]

EcoRenovator just ran a short series on ecomodding a fridge:

Ecofriendly DIY Home Projects - Series - Ecomodding a fridge

The results were very respectable.

[arcosine]

Humidity levels are high here in Chicago in summer. AC is basically a dehumidifier, but is currently broken due to corrosion and leak in the aluminum condenser. Was considering geothermal for replacement.

[Daox]

EcoRenovator has a bunch of info on heat pumps of all sorts. People hacking dehumidifiers for water heating, air source heat pumps, and even geothermal heat pumps with DIY drilling rigs to lay the tubing. Check it out.

[radioranger]

my fridge has a coil panel on the back and i know if it has any dust on it the efficency drops off quickly , I also blocked the wall heater behind it , we'll see in a few days the electric usage change, I hope ! thinking of the computer fan idea on the back .

[arcosine]

Originally Posted by radioranger

my fridge has a coil panel on the back and i know if it has any dust on it the efficency drops off quickly , I also blocked the wall heater behind it , we'll see in a few days the electric usage change, I hope ! thinking of the computer fan idea on the back .

You could put a fridge outside then it would use no electricity. I thougt that having it on an exterior wall with the condenser in outside air would work, it wouldn't heat the house in summer and be real efficient in the winter.

[radioranger]

that's a good idea, probably cost more than you save but a good idea, i go nuts in summer when i walk into a little deli near hear that's struggling, 10 coolers putting all their heat into the room they are trying to cool off. almost every small place is the same too, the vendor owns the cooler so they are not worried, also noisy as heck too.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by arcosine

I thougt that having it on an exterior wall with the condenser in outside air would work, it wouldn't heat the house in summer and be real efficient in the winter.

With the fridge indoors and the coils outside you would have a heat pump, more specifically an air conditioner, removing heat from the house. Good in the summer (though the COP wouldn't be too good with the coils in the hot outside air), but in the winter you would have to make up for the lost heat with your heating system.

The best idea I've seen so far is what user Ecomodded over at EcoRenovator did: a duct that allows the hot air to either warm the kitchen or to be vented outdoors. Pictures start at post #22
Ecomodded Fridge saves $$