Editor's note: This week, Lighter Footstep's Chris Baskind shares some tips for making your refrigerator run more efficiently. This post was originally published on May 30, 2007.
So how old is your refrigerator?
More than five years? If your fridge is similar to most, it uses about 40% more electricity than the ENERGY STAR certified units being sold today. And given the fact that your fridge is one of a typical home's biggest energy gobblers, that adds up to a pretty good chunk of change each year.
Replacing your current refrigerator with a modern unit could save you upwards of $70 and reduce your home's annual carbon dioxide footprint by a thousand pounds a year. Given that the life cycle of a fridge is ten years or more, it makes sense to replace aging units whenever possible. But that's not always financially feasible.
If you're not ready to upgrade, there are some things you can do to improve the efficiency of your current model: