Refrigeration Tips Easy savings
Don’t open and close doors more than necessary. Open doors ruin food quality and cost money Make sure your temperature settings aren’t too low. It costs a lot of energy and money to keep your refrigerator cold Don’t overload or empty your refrigerator too much. Air won’t properly flow if your refrigerator is too full and you’ll waste energy if it’s near-empty. Consolidate what you can and turn off unneeded refrigerators Keep refrigeration units away from heat. Keep soda machines and other refrigeration units in cool areas. These units have to work harder if they’re in direct sunlight or next to any heat-generating appliance Consider a new energy star-labeled 50-cubic-foot commercial refrigerator. It uses about 2,500 kWh and costs about $205 each year to run. Standard commercial refrigerators use 30% more. Maintain proper ventilation. Keep a 1” gap on the sides and a 4” gap at the back so air flow can reach the condenser and fan As with lights, dirt and dust inhibit efficient operation and capacity so keep your refrigerator’s cooling coils clean. Keep your door seals tight to keep out warm air. You do not want to be able to slide a dollar bill through the seal Air Temperatures for Display Refrigerators* (in ͦF) Fixture Type Minimum Temperature Maximum Temperature Dairy 34 38 Produce, packaged 35 38 Meat, unwrapped 36 38 Meat, wrapped 24 26 Frozen food ** -13 to -5 Ice cream ** -24 to -13
*Display refrigerators are not designed to cool the product, only to maintain product temperature. Air temperatures listed are for the maintenance of the product **Minimum temperatures for frozen foods and ice cream aren’t critical except for energy conservation. The maximum temperatures are important to preserve a product’s quality. Source: ASHRAE (www.ashrae.org and the ASHRAE Handbook) http://www.asbdc-us.org/Resources/Energy_Efficiency_Pays.pdf)