Super insulation for Fridge Freezer.

[Dave76]

Wondering if you can get problems from super insulating a fridge freezer or freezer by adding like 50mm of fibre glass type insulation around the base, sides and top. My electricity bill is as high in the summer as winter, and obviously the lights aren't on as long. The fridge walls feel cold to the touch, so there could definitely be improvement. Will be keeping the back clear, and not using much polystyrene. Expect won't be able to improve the door much, except by adding polystyrene blocks inside.

Issues I was thinking of are dampness, compressor getting stuck because not used much, hot and cold spots inside.

 

[sja360]

Is the fridge/freezer old and where is it being kept? I ask because if it's cold on the outside then something is wrong with fridge/freezer itself.

I'd hazard a guess that you probably need a new fridge/freezer.

 

[Tony Edwards]

I could google it but cant really be bothered.

I thought it was a bit of a mental first post but checked the temp on the outside of my fridge freezer and yes it it very cold. I would have also thought it would be better insultaed against the cold escaping. For once I am actually looking forward to the answers from those that might have a clue about this.

 

[Gammawolf]

Can't contribute to numbers (as i didn't do the math, my father did) but I did at one point live in a property with an old fridge which was the landlords so we couldn't throw it away. It wasted more cost in electricity over the few years we had to run it than just buying a new one. The only reason we didnt turn it off was because it was a small flat and had no where else to store it.

Also bear in mind that compressors do get worn. It gets less efficient over time as parts wear, leaks can occur and may need to run longer to achieve the same performance.

I would suggest if its cold on the outside then there is probably an issue with it, I have had one of these for the past 5 years and i just measured the outside wall temp of the freezer section and it was room temp (20c) near the center of the panel. Around near the door where it tapers in and there is less insulation it was around 19c. The walls on this freezer are probably around 8-10cm thick although the heat exchangers are in parts of the side panels on the fridge side.

https://ao.com/product/ms91518ffs-fridgemaster-american-fridge-freezer-silver-41249-27.aspx

Finally, don't expect to use considerably less electric during the summer.. lights being off a little more will do almost nothing to your overall bill when you have things like 2kw kettles being used, huge motors in washing machines, hot water pumps, computers etc. To put it into perspective, a modest gaming computer for an hour session will still probably use around 0.25kWh. Which would be the equivalent of having four room lights on for 4 hours (assuming 15w LED bulb). If you have 2 or 3 Amazon alexas then its the same as having a room light on 24/7.