I have a few days worth of data now comparing how much more energy it takes to operate my refrigerator set to 34F vs 38F. So far, it looks like the refrigerator is taking ~17% more energy to get those extra 4F's.
Some notes:
1) I have this refrigerator (Samsung RF23J9011SR/AA 23 cu ft counter depth)
2) The freezer is set to 0F
3) The "other extra cooler" on this has been set to "chill" the whole time
4) I'm only looking at data collected from midnight to 5am. This way I'm not dealing with disruptions of people opening the refrigerator (nobody snacks out of this fridge at night; we have an upstairs snack fridge for that)
5) The fridge is always about 75% full
6) Between midnight and 5am my downstairs thermostat is set to 65F
7) Sample data collected over the first couple weeks of February 2021
8) Data collected with an Emporia Vue on the GFCI circuit that the fridge is plugged into.
Here's a table of the limited sample (# in watt hours reported by Emporia each hour).
@ 38F, the thing takes about 63 watt hours of power each hour which works out to 1.51 kWh per day of just "holding" temperature
@ 34%, the thing is taking about 74 watt hours of power each hour which works out to 1.78 kWh per day.
Over a full year, this is estimated to be 98.55 kWh. And since PG&E rates fluctuate like crazy, this 98.55 kWh is like 1 share of Gamestop Stock.
I'll keep an eye on the data to see if the 34F drops into the 60's for watt hours... although I'm sure changing ambient temperatures and stuff may be more of a factor than than the actual F's of refrigerator setting.
Does any of this matter? Nah not really.
Some notes:
1) I have this refrigerator (Samsung RF23J9011SR/AA 23 cu ft counter depth)
2) The freezer is set to 0F
3) The "other extra cooler" on this has been set to "chill" the whole time
4) I'm only looking at data collected from midnight to 5am. This way I'm not dealing with disruptions of people opening the refrigerator (nobody snacks out of this fridge at night; we have an upstairs snack fridge for that)
5) The fridge is always about 75% full
6) Between midnight and 5am my downstairs thermostat is set to 65F
7) Sample data collected over the first couple weeks of February 2021
8) Data collected with an Emporia Vue on the GFCI circuit that the fridge is plugged into.
Here's a table of the limited sample (# in watt hours reported by Emporia each hour).
@ 38F, the thing takes about 63 watt hours of power each hour which works out to 1.51 kWh per day of just "holding" temperature
@ 34%, the thing is taking about 74 watt hours of power each hour which works out to 1.78 kWh per day.
Over a full year, this is estimated to be 98.55 kWh. And since PG&E rates fluctuate like crazy, this 98.55 kWh is like 1 share of Gamestop Stock.
I'll keep an eye on the data to see if the 34F drops into the 60's for watt hours... although I'm sure changing ambient temperatures and stuff may be more of a factor than than the actual F's of refrigerator setting.
Does any of this matter? Nah not really.