Dirty condenser coil on refrigerator cost how much?

[tipsrfine]

Does anyone know how to calculate just how much more it cost to operate a refrigerator with a dirty condenser coil? I'd like to be able to motivate people on the importance of keeping these coils clean with something a little more concrete than "It will save you money". Even the newer models still represent a significant amount of the electricity used in a home.

[Pascone10]

Does anyone know how to calculate just how much more it cost to operate a refrigerator with a dirty condenser coil? I'd like to be able to motivate people on the importance of keeping these coils clean with something a little more concrete than "It will save you money". Even the newer models still represent a significant amount of the electricity used in a home.

Well I know in the commercial stuff it saves them money. One customer never had the coils cleaned on reach in units and they overheated the oil and plugged up the metering devices. One right after the other. He ended up buying 2 new units..
As far as a cost. Im not sure. I suppose it would depend on how dirty and for how long. Hey, if they dont trust what you are telling them the heck with it. They will have to pay the extra bucks to run it. No reason to get upset about it. Well thats my thinking anyway...
Are you talking about a standard home refrigerator/freezer?

[tipsrfine]

Yes, I am talking about a standard home refrigerator. I'd like to be able to give them real numbers rather than the general "It will save you money". Not many people clean those coils-especially the hard to get at ones on the bottom. A real dollar amount is probably needed to motivate them to do it.

[jpsmith1cm]

Rather than trying to emphasize the operating cost difference, tell them about the overall effects on the unit. Plugged cap tubes, bad compressors, etc.

I don't think you will able to easily quantify something like that. The compressor or cap tube replacement you can just tell them what you would charge to make those repairs.

[badbillr]

once again I have to agree JP on this. My refrigerator is 4 ft. from the exit door in the kitchen. I slide it over to the opening and clean the condensing coil using a leaf blower. My coil is mounted on the bottom, underneath my refrigerator. Blows the crap right out to the outside and it leaves it spotless.

[tipsrfine]

Rather than trying to emphasize the operating cost difference, tell them about the overall effects on the unit. Plugged cap tubes, bad compressors, etc.

I don't think you will able to easily quantify something like that. The compressor or cap tube replacement you can just tell them what you would charge to make those repairs.

Good points about the problems that are caused by it being dirty. I'm into this energy auditing thing and advising homeowners how to reduce energy waste, so it would be nice to have some ball-park number as to how much more energy is wasted by having a dirty coil.

[jpsmith1cm]

The only way you could do it is to run repeated experiments using a watt meter Nd a variety of units to get an average of the increase in running costs.

[tipsrfine]

The only way you could do it is to run repeated experiments using a watt meter Nd a variety of units to get an average of the increase in running costs.

What got me wondering was a friend called me 'cause his fridge stopped keeping his food cool, but the freezer was still keeping food frozen. It turned out to be only that his condenser coil was real dirty. I cleaned it and it is back to running fine-several months have gone by.
So if the average cycles per day were 5-I have no idea how long the run times would average-this unit had to be running non stop all day before it got to the point where he noticed food getting warm (his stat was fine). This would indicate that a dirty coil could significantly increase cost.

[tipsrfine]

For a general assumption I'm going with an average run time of 50% for the average use. Now I just need a number for how much will the higher head pressure raise the amp draw and then I can do the math thing to calculate the increase in wattage. At that point I can deduct the original electrical use from the increased use and times it by 2 (since I'm also going to go with the dirty unit is now running 100% of the time.) Basically comparing best case with worst case.

[lions_lair]

Here they have like a pre paid electric service. Its the same city power n all. But u get a box that tells how much elec. You are using(per hour. & kw/hrs.). Old fridge used .60 cents a day-new more eff. Clean one uses about 10 cents a day..quite a bit of difference huh..not that it helps your question..but I just wanted to contribute my experiance with this fridge thing..

[tipsrfine]

Here they have like a pre paid electric service. Its the same city power n all. But u get a box that tells how much elec. You are using(per hour. & kw/hrs.). Old fridge used .60 cents a day-new more eff. Clean one uses about 10 cents a day..quite a bit of difference huh..not that it helps your question..but I just wanted to contribute my experiance with this fridge thing..

How valid would it be if I just took an amp draw of my unit clean and then when it is dirty and just did the math? I'm still going with the 50% run time compared to 100% when dirty run time. I'll just convert the amp draws to wattage via ohms law.

[lions_lair]

How valid would it be if I just took an amp draw of my unit clean and then when it is dirty and just did the math? I'm still going with the 50% run time compared to 100% when dirty run time. I'll just convert the amp draws to wattage via ohms law.

Oh ,I'm not the one to answer that..lol. And I realize my experience with this. It could have had bad door seals,low seer,dirty condenser,etc. But no one was living there so there was no a/c or lights or anything running but the fridge. So I know for a fact about the #'s I posted. I love the elec box u can get here!

[sweat hog]

I set my beer fridg to 35 food and -7 freezer, stabilized over a week and then cleaned the condenser coils. Had to back off 2 points on the stats to keep from freezing the beer.

[tipsrfine]

I'm going with this: I'm increasing energy usage by 30% and going from 40% run time to 100% run time. So even a modern efficient refrigerator can cost an extra hundred bucks to run in a year. Not to mention shortening its life.

[eglide99]

I set my beer fridg to 35 food and -7 freezer, stabilized over a week and then cleaned the condenser coils. Had to back off 2 points on the stats to keep from freezing the beer.

You are not drinking the beer fast enough..LOL I will help you out LOL

[sweat hog]

By my calculations the door was opened 25 times in a week. Once for loading.

[egads]

Well, I can tell you that I forgot to clean mine for 5 years! (I used to do it at least once a year) It was more than just dirty. I am hoping for a good reduction in electric usage, but it will take a month or two to know. I remembered because usage has recently gone up considering it's winter and not electric heat is used. What remember from back when I did keep it clean was a reduction of about $30.

[jbeckham]

delta T and kilowatt hours would be handy figures for starters. you might be able to find some thermal ratings on the manufacturer data for the enclosure. however, it will most likely only render a figure for empty storage.

you could always just unplug a fridge with clean coils, let it reach room ambient, wait for it to make temp., and record the run time data back down to set point. then, go get some drier lint and cram it in the condenser and repeat the process. this, obviously, will only render a pull down load, but it will be a real figure.

sounds silly, but it will probably get you there. as is much in life, if you want the facts, you're going to have to do most of the legwork yourself.