MUM-OF-TWO Kate Hall has cut around £160 a year from her energy bills by making simple changes to the way she looks after her freezer.
This includes ensuring it is always around 75 per cent full, checking the seals are working properly, and defrosting it every six months.
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Energy prices for the average household have risen from £1,971 to £2,500 under the Energy Price Guarantee, which kicked in in October.
It means the 37-year-old mum is on a mission to cut the cost of using her gas-guzzling appliances.
According to Uswitch, the average fridge-freezer uses 198 kWh of energy per year, which costs £67 a year under the current Energy Price Guarantee.
Kate, who lives in Orpington, Kent with her husband Matt and their two children, Ellie, six and Josh, four, told The Sun: “A freezer will run more efficiently when it is filled up as it doesn’t have to work as hard to stay cool.”
Having empty space inside your freezer could increase the appliance’s energy consumption by as much as 10 per cent, Uswitch found, costing you an additional £6.70 a year.
How to fill up your freezer to 75 per cent
“If you’re time poor, you can buy frozen food to ensure your freezer is at least three quarters full,” said Kate who runs thefullfreezer.com, which helps people reduce food waste and save money.
Kate added: “Most people don’t realise they can also freeze individual fresh ingredients so that nothing ever goes to waste.
“You don’t need to batch cook, you can literally just freeze single items such as onions, bananas and even eggs.
“You just need to know how to do so.
“This will not only make the freezer more full, but will also stop overcrowding of the fridge.
“In addition, saving this food can help to substantially cut down your food shop.”
Kate has lots of quick and easy tips on how to freeze more than 100 different individual foods through her Instagram account “canifreezeit”.
Use a piece of paper to check your freezer door
Another clever trick from the money-saving whizz involves using a piece of paper to check the seals on your freezer door are working as they should be.
As appliances age, they can get worn.
If the seals leak cold air, the appliance could be using more energy to stay cool.
If leaky seals reduce your device’s efficiency by 5 per cent, this could cost you an extra £3.40 a year.
“If you have a freestanding appliance, test this by closing a slip of paper in the door,” said Kate.
“If the seal is functioning correctly, the paper should stay in place.
“Be sure to move it around the whole door to check the whole seal.
“If it pulls out easily try tightening the hinges, or replace the seal.
“This is really easy to do, as they just pull off and push on.”
Defrost your freezer regularly
Kate also recommends getting into the habit of defrosting your freezer regularly to optimise its performance.
This could save you around £150 a year on your fuel bill.
“Ideally you should look to do this every six months,” she said.
“You want to avoid a build-up of ice.”
Ensuring that your freezer is running at maximum efficiency is a really easy way to keep costs down.
“All it takes is a few simple adjustments,” said Kate.
“With these three steps alone, I’ve shaved around £160 a year off my bills.”
Findings from retailer Currys show fridges and freezers consume 16 per cent of the total electricity used in a UK home, equating to around 9 per cent of the average household’s energy bill.
With bills on the up, Kate has stepped up her efforts to keep costs down.
“Unlike your central heating, which you can switch off to save money, your fridge and freezer need to stay on 24 hours a day,” she said.
“If your fridge ends up empty because you’re keeping more food items in your freezer, you can use it to store drinks or bottles of tap water.
“Aim to keep it around two thirds full. But take care to avoid over-filling it, as this will prevent the circulation of colder air.”
Kate said it’s also important not to put hot food in either your fridge or freezer.
“If you do this, the appliances have to work harder to lower the temperature,” she said.
“It’s best to move food into a cold dish, stir it, or place the dish into an ice bath to cool the food more quickly.”
During the day, avoid opening the fridge door too often, or keeping it open for too long.
This is especially important during the warmer months.
Doing this will cause the inside temperature to rise, meaning your appliance will need to work harder to cool down again.
Clean your appliances regularly
It’s also worth organising the contents of your freezer by categories so you know where everything is kept.
“That way, you can get in and out more quickly. I have vinyl labels on my drawers so everyone in the family knows what lives where,” she said.
You should also clean behind your fridge and freezer regularly to help keep the appliances cool, and working as efficiently as possible.
The Energy Saving Trust recommends cleaning the condenser coils on the back, as fluffed coils can reduce working efficiency by 25 per cent.
If your fridge or freezer is more than 10 years old, it may be time to start thinking about replacing it.
According to Uswitch, the most efficient fridge freezers use as little as 108 kWh a year, while the least efficient models guzzle 288 kWh.
So, if your appliance is coming to the end of its life, it’s worth checking the rating of its replacement.
Uswitch found the difference in annual energy costs between the most efficient and least efficient fridge freezer is more than £61, so there are big savings to be made.
If you are thinking about upgrading, be aware that some energy companies are offering customers free white goods if they meet certain criteria, so see if you qualify.
