Energy efficiency is an important feat to helping you save on your electric bills. However, could a common mistake be the reasoning for a higher bill at the end of the month? Here’s how not letting your food cool down before sticking it in the fridge could be costing you:

Temperature Spike

While putting still-warm food in your refrigerator isn’t going to damage the appliance in any way, it does cause a spike in temperature. This means your fridge works harder to bring its temperature back down, which puts stress on the compressor. While doing this every once in a while won’t hinder your energy efficiency, regularly doing this can add to your energy waste.

Food Safety and Your Fridge

Mister Sparky does recommend following FDA standards and not letting cooked food remain out for longer than two hours, or one hour if the room is 90 degrees or higher, as bacteria can develop and lead to food-borne illnesses like salmonella or E. coli. Hot leftovers can also be placed in a covered dish and in a shallow bath of ice water to help cool the food down.

Older Refrigerators

Be careful with putting warm food directly inside your fridge if you have an older model. Why? Older models are less powerful, and the heat from warm food used to be hot enough that it could raise the temperature to an unsafe level.

Increase your energy efficiency with an energy audit from Mister Sparky® of San Antonio!