Refrigerators that save electricity consumption and our environment- CHOICE # 366

Household refrigerators are generally durable giving the users many years of useful service.

It therefore makes good sense to choose one that saves on electricity cost - and the environment too.

Help is at hand in a comprehensive Consumer Council test report on 11 models of fridge-freezers priced from $2,600 to $4,300, with over half of them offering a 5-year full guarantee for users.

The samples, with total gross volume of within 200 litres to 300 litres suitable for small families, were evaluated for their performance, safety, convenience, noise and vibration.

The test revealed considerable variations in energy consumption assessment, as part of the performance test, of the products varying from $380 to $599 in total annual electricity fees.

For the budget - and environmentally - conscious, the difference among samples can be as much as $219 a year and over a period of many years the benefit accrued can be of significance.

The test uncovered 3 of the 9 models bearing the energy labels issued by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) to actually fall short of the grading required by the Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme. The discrepancy has been drawn to the attention of EMSD.

In the coldness preservation test, the samples were disconnected from electricity supply to measure the speed of temperature rise inside the freezer.

The result: the time taken for the samples to rise from -18℃ to -9℃ was measured to vary from 5.3 hours to 11.1 hours. The longer the time the better especially when the power is down.

The test showed that some refrigerators were found to be smaller or in some cases bigger than the claimed capacity. The deviation found ranged from -6% to +7%.

Consumers are warned about the potential hazard of trying to replace the light bulb in 2 of the samples as the lamp holders in these fridges had exposed live part of the screw shell of the bulb.

But the risk of electric shock could be avoided simply by unplugging or switching off the refrigerator before replacing the lamp. Other safety and hygiene advice includes:

• Never place water container on the top of the fridge, or splash water over it.
   
• If the power supply cord is damaged or any abnormality occurs, do not attempt to repair it yourselves. Call the agent for a checkup and repair.
   
• Clean the shelves and empty any condensate water container regularly.