Steplight

The power consumption of domestic fridges is typically between 100 and 200 watts. Over a full day they are likely to use around 1-2 kilowatt-hours (kWh).

The actual energy consumption of your fridge or freezer will depend on many factors. These include:

• Size – larger fridges generally use more electricity.
• Location – if the fridge is in a warm location (e.g. next to the oven) or if it is in a poorly ventilated area, the compressor will need to work harder.
• Use – if the fridge door is opened frequently or held open, the compressor will need to work harder to keep things cool. Also, an empty fridge will work harder than a well-stocked fridge because there’s more space to cool and food ‘keeps its cool’ longer than air.
• Temperature set point – the factory setting may keep the fridge cooler than is needed in your home. To store food safely, the temperature should be between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. Check that your fridge and freezer temperatures are not unnecessarily cold with a thermometer like this.
• Age – older fridges are usually less energy efficient than newer fridges.
• Condition – check the seals around the door. If these are worn the fridge will be less efficient.

What about the star rating?

Energy efficiency ‘star ratings’ are a good buying guide but because of the variable factors described above the only way to know exactly how much power your fridge is consuming is to use Steplight’s Plug in Power Meter.

Power consumption of our office fridge

Steplight Office Fridge

Using Steplight’s Plug-in Power Meter we found that the small fridge in our office uses between 90 and 100 Watts when the compressor is running.

To understand how much electricity your fridge is using over time it is best to keep the Power Meter plugged in and running over a 24-hour period. The fridge will not use power constantly and should only be drawing power when the compressor is running, and also when the door light comes on.

We found that our fridge used 0.607 kilowatt-hours in a 24 hour period, which equates to around 221 kWh per year.  The Steplight Plug-in Power Meter showed that the fridge was drawing power for 6 hours and 10 minutes over that 24 hour period, or 25% duty, which is quite energy efficient (a typical duty cycle for fridges is around 30%, or 8 hours per 24-hour period).

This is an office fridge so it’s almost empty most of the time. We keep bottles of frozen water in the freezer which helps the whole unit run more efficiently. We also turn the unit off when it’s empty for prolonged periods and have made sure there’s at least a 10cm gap around all sides to allow air to move.

Electricity consumption of other fridges

I did the same test with my fridge at home and found that it uses about 1 kWh per day, which is  typical for small units under 250 litres capacity.

Commercial refrigeration is more complex to measure but the opportunities for energy savings are greater. Some of the businesses for which Steplight has completed business energy audits initially spent well over half of their electricity costs on refrigeration. In most cases, we were able to identify affordable cost-saving opportunities of 20-40%.

How much energy does your fridge use?

- Holly Lovell-Smith

Related blog post: How to Calculate Wattage?

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Food gardening at home

There’s a growing trend in backyards and front yards, on street verges and balconies…and community gardens are cropping up in urban villages all over town (puns intended).

I can’t help having a bit of fun with the words as it’s fun growing your own food, either in your own backyard or with others in shared plots. I get so much joy in the whole process of growing my own herbs, fruits and vegetables, then sharing the excess with friends and family.

Food security

A lot of discussion is taking place on food security around the world. In an article I read recently the author, Paul Burton, Professor of Urban Management and Planning at Griffith University, discusses food security in an Australian context. It’s important to have a sense of this issue to be able to rethink and localise how we grow our food.

Motivations

Food security is one of the drivers of the shift to local food gardening. Other reasons are a desire to reduce household food bills as well as a desire to rediscover a connection with the natural world, and also to give skills for a more sustainable life to children. Many people enjoy teaching their kids where our food comes from, how to cook and eat it, how to improve emotional and physical health through nutrition, and how to get to know their neighbours through sharing knowledge and food.

If you need a little inspiration to get started, Pam Warhurst shows us in an entertaining way how we can eat our landscapes.

One of my personal motivations is learning about nature’s closed loop cycles. For example, my garden isn’t complete without using a compost and/or worm farm. There’s no waste in natural cycles – food scraps and garden clippings become compost which improve the soil and feed the garden. I’m particularly interested in the interconnectedness of the natural world and how much it can teach us.

Sometimes it takes rising food and petrol prices to motivate us to action, but it doesn’t really matter what our motivations are when the end result is that our planetary home…and loved ones…are healthier.

Benefits

The benefits of home gardening go beyond what gets us motivated. For example:

• We know where our food comes from and how it has been grown – i.e. without unhealthy pesticides and herbicides.
• We get a sense of pride and accomplishment in nurturing plants from seed to blossom to food on the plate.
• We eat more fresh whole foods and rediscover how much better vegetables and fruits can taste.
• Our health and fitness can increase with the extra outdoor exercise, which in turn can improve emotional health.
• Children love eating vegetables they themselves have grown.
• There’s an opportunity to reconnect with your local community.
• Money can be saved on groceries and by making fewer trips to the shops.
• Food waste can be reduced as we can pick what we want when needed and are more likely to eat, preserve or share larger harvests.
• Reduced food miles – i.e. fewer resources are used to get food from ‘farm’ to plate.
• Reduced ecological footprint as food production and transport typically uses up to half the environmental impact of our lifestyles.

My food garden

New potted food garden with lettuce and tomato seedlings just showing
and a dwarf Eureka Lemon tree.

I started experimenting with home food gardening about 30 years ago. It has not always been easy – while many places in which I’ve lived have provided me with plenty of open, sunny ground in which to plant, others have provided barely enough room for a few pots. I’ve recently moved again so I’m once again creating a new food garden. This time it will have to be in pots on verandahs to capture the sun.

I’ve started with a few staple favourites, such as Italian parsley, basil, oregano, tomatoes, lettuces and strawberries. I’ve also decided that I’m not waiting any longer to have a little orchard as there are some great dwarf varieties of fruits that do very well in pots, like my first dwarf lemon.

Just starting with a favourite herb for your kitchen garden makes a difference and brings greater joy and flavour to your cooking. Happy gardening!

- Marta Lett

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There is currently a global revolution underway in how we access education. Access to higher education is opening up to anyone with a laptop or hand held device connected to the internet.

Distance education is not new in Australia. Historically, the only access many remote communities had to education was by radio. Today, access to all levels of education from primary through to university is available online. Rather than compromise teacher/lecturer direction and support, learning is enhanced because individuals learn at their own pace and teachers can track progress to see who needs additional assistance for particular tasks.

At Steplight, we have been delivering accredited training and sustainability workshops through our online interactive classroom for the last eighteen months. Our online courses and workshops are available Australia wide and students from all over Australia have participated. Using our interactive online delivery platform students can see and hear the trainer, watch and listen to the presentation, contribute to class discussion through voice and text, and write on the whiteboard. Click the image below for a preview (PDF).

An article I read recently describes how UNSW is taking up the challenge of providing e-learning for their medical students, who are showing improvements in results already. UNSW is not alone – other prominent universities in the UK and US now offer select courses online and are experiencing significant increases in enrolments.

The future of education is here, and we’re pleased to say Steplight was already there!

- Marta Lett

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