Do you have an older refrigerator? Read this.

[aurielle]

We just replaced our refrigerator a couple of months ago because it was dying. The old one was given to us free, I don't know exactly how old it is but I would guess at least 15 years old. Our power bill went down by about $20/month. And we bought just a basic low-end model.

[jasanderson]

We have an old refigerator in our utility room that we use for parties and to hold drinks. I am wondering if it would make sense just to get a small refrigerator for drinks and get rid of the old inefficient one?

How often do you have parties? Could you just unplug it until you need it? We have a small one in our garage which doesn't hold much more than a case of beer or maybe two. The nice thing about a bigger fridge is if you are cooking at holidays you have extra space to store stuff.

[momof1in150]

It is plugged in all the time for drinks. I think we are going to buy a small one for drinks and unplug this one and only use it for parties. I like keeping soda and other drinks in the basement refrigerator because they are out of sight/out of mind.

[asmom]

That's very interesting. I'll pass this along to my Dad, the fridge in his house is at least 25 years old.

[krayziebone33]

I spoke to my cousin earlier. Last month, his 20-year-old refrigerator died and he had to replace it. He told me that he just got his electric bill and he was shocked. He didn't go looking for a super efficient fridge. He just got a pretty basic model - cost him $430. He lives alone in a 2-bedroom apartment. He said his electric bill is always between $55 and $60. Last month, the first full month with the new fridge, his bill was $27. Half, or less, than his prior bills. So he is saving about $30/month, meaning the new fridge will pay for itself in just over 14 months.

Our fridge is over 13 years old and our freezer is over 15 years old. We could probably save at least $60/month if we replaced them both (our fridge is bigger than his). Plus, both of our appliances still work just fine, so we could probably even get something for them on craigslist. I hate to lay out the money, but if we'll recoup the cost in just over a year, it makes a lot of sense. Something to think about.

Yup, Disneysteve. Newer appliances can DRASTICALLY reduce your electric bills. The more you ask questions like this, the more you will realize how important it is to keep newer appliances. I'm trying to convince my mother to get rid of the 21-year-old fridge that she has in our kitchen. Beside the obvious money-saving benefits of getting rid of the fridge, the door barely opens and closes and the freezer is very small (I never realized just how small it really is growing up). She probably will ignore me (a common practice) and continue to use it, yet complain about how high the bills are. Oh well. You can lead a horse to water but . . .

[disneysteve]

I'm trying to convince my mother to get rid of the 21-year-old fridge that she has in our kitchen.

You can lead a horse to water but . . .

I am definitely someone who has a great deal of trouble bringing myself to buy something as an upgrade of something I still have that works fine. If our fridge died, I'd replace it in an instant. But somehow, the idea of going out and spending a few hundred dollars to replace our perfectly good fridge really bothers me. I know that it would save money in the long run. It is just hard to bring myself to make that upfront investment.

DW has been bugging me to replace our freezer. We bought it around the time we got married, maybe even before, so it is about 15 years old. It is not frost-free so it is always building up a thick coating of ice and stuff gets freezer burned all the time. It would be much more useful and save energy if we replaced it. I'll have to start working on that one.