The average household freezer is a silent slave. It operates year in and year out, requiring nothing other than a constant provide of electricity. Ultimately, though it may require to be replaced.

The following are a few considerations that will allow you to make an knowledgeable decision about its buy.

Most consumers have only a few concerns (other than cost) when buying a freezer:

one ? What dimension do I need?

2 ? How much electricity will it eat?

3 ? What (if any)options do I require?

Dimension

Dimension of program depends upon your needs. Generally though, most people buy as well big a freezer. They base their judgement upon perceived usages instead than actual usage. Their reasoning is: We &quotmight&quot require a bigger one in situation there &quotmay be&quot a special at the grocery store on something. The actuality though is that most freezers finish up becoming operated only half full.

Also, remember that all frozen meals ought to be consumed within six weeks. Foods stored longer than that can become dehydrated no issue how nicely wrapped. As the moisture leaves the food each taste and nutritional value will be lowered. So something stored longer than six weeks will probably finish up becoming thrown out. As an example, how much ice cream have you thrown away simply because ice crystals began to form within the package? That ice forming within the package is dehydration at work.

Therefore, when attempting to determine how big a freezer to buy we recommend utilizing what we call the &quotsix week rule&quot.

To use this rule you first approximate how much &quotfrozen&quot food your family members consumes in a six-week period. Then envision how much space those products would need if stacked on your kitchen counter. That will give you an idea of the physical dimension of freezer you need.

Lastly, don’t forget that the chest type freezer will need twice the floor space of an upright. This may be an important element if you live in an apartment.

Electricity consumed

Even though freezers are efficient consumers of electricity they will definitely increase your electrical bill.

An upright freezer consumes more electricity. This is simply because each and every time it is opened the cold air spills out onto the floor. As a result, it runs more frequently. Also present day uprights are often frost free, which by their nature eat much more electricity. So we have to spend for the benefit of not having to defrost it.

Chest freezers are more efficient consumers of electricity simply because the cold air lies within even though the lid is lifted to entry the contents. But, chest types are manual and will require to be shut down and defrosted as soon as a year.

Are there ways to lower the electrical usage of our freezers? Perhaps.

To lower electrical usage some people only use their freezer seasonally. Throughout summer time and fall, when freshly develop food is obtainable, they clean out the freezer and turn it off. It is began back up again for winter season and spring usage. This practise is common with gardeners who primarily want to store their fall vegetables. Seniors also do this simply because getting out in the winter season is more tough. Therefore they use a freezer to decrease the number of trips to the grocery store.

Some people are now suggesting a practice known as freezer blocking to lower usage. This entails filling any unused space in the freezer with blankets or boxes of insulation. The concept is that only the food area would be cooled simply because air circulation is becoming blocked off from unused sections. The smaller sized the space becoming cooled, the much less the freezer ought to run.

Others recommend filling unused space with containers of water. They would become frozen and act as a thermal media that in concept would lower the run time of the freezer. The jury is nonetheless out on these suggestions. To me appears like an over reaction by people who purchased as well big a freezer in the first place.

Choices required

Because most freezers are relegated to the basement they are not an appliance that needs to appear fairly. Neither do most consumers really feel a necessity for them to have many options. Most are simply regarded as big storage boxes exactly where frozen meals are stored for later on usage.

Recently though manufacturers they have been offering a few more options. Issues this kind of as frost free, constructed in alarms, digital temperature displays, push button controls, and fast freeze are now on the market. All options on a freezer can serve a objective but should be offset with the possibility of increased complexity. The more complex a device the more possibility of it breaking down. Plus, along with complexity generally comes increased cost.

One of the more uncommon issues you will see comes from Haier America. It is a chest type freezer with a pull out drawer at the bottom. The upper half is a basic chest freezer for lengthy phrase storage. The lower half allows fast entry via a drawer that slides out. The idea is that the drawer section is for products that require to be frozen ? but will be used within a few days.

Summing Up

Food preferences have altered substantially in the final decade. We are eating much less beef and more poultry and vegetables. As a result, consumers now store much less than fifty pounds of beef at any time.

Twenty many years back freezers offered would average fifteen to 20 cubic feet. These days the most popular dimension for a freezer is seven to twelve cubic feet. Once more a reflection upon the reality that more people are consuming clean meals instead than frozen.

· Household freezers come in either a chest type or an upright type.

· If you are searching for comfort, then the upright freezer is for you. Obviously, its design allows you to get to the food effortlessly. Simply reaching into an upright demands much less versatility than leaning into a chest freezer.

· Chest freezers tend to be more efficient to run and eat much less electricity.

· Chest freezers are generally manual and will require to be defrosted as soon as per year. Numerous upright freezers though are self-defrosting.

· If you expect to use the freezer for lengthy-phrase storage a chest is much better simply because they run at a lower temperature than an upright.

So it is time to lastly make that choice of what to buy. Ideally, some of the suggestions above will assist you make an knowledgeable decision. Keep in mind to consider a near appear at the Energuide before buying. It offers a lot of information to assist with an knowledgeable decision. But more on the Energuide in future issues.

March one, 2005

Copyright 2005 by Donald Grummett. All correct reserved.

In the trade over 30 many years as a technician, business owner, and technical trainer. For more information about appliances such as Frequently Asked Questions, Stain manual, Newsletter, and Recycling go to http://www.newsletterjournal.com