Diurnal refrigeration: harmful?

October 1, 2007 8:53 PM

Can I unplug my refrigerator full of beverages overnight?

I've got a small refrigerator in my dorm room whose exclusive purpose is to keep some bottles of Bawls cold. I don't need cold Bawls while I'm asleep. The fridge makes breathing noises which creep me out slightly. Is there any earthly reason why I couldn't unplug it every night before I go to sleep, and plug it in again in the morning? I doubt my tasty beverages could be adversely affected by fluctuating temperatures, but I don't want to hurt the (borrowed) refrigerator. It'll certainly save some electricity.

posted by silby to home & garden (9 comments total)

No, there's no reason.
posted by desjardins at 8:54 PM on October 1, 2007

If your fridge has frost, you could be waking up to a puddle (and potentially an electric short) in the morning.
posted by kickingtheground at 9:02 PM on October 1, 2007

I've heard that it's not good to fluctuate the temperature of certain drinks, like beer, or you risk losing some flavor. Or something. Not sure about Bawls but if you're not a "drinkophile" it would probably be okay.
posted by dhammond at 9:03 PM on October 1, 2007

I'm sorry, I meant "if you're NOT a 'drinkophile' it would probably be okay."

P.S. Don't do it, man!
posted by dhammond at 9:04 PM on October 1, 2007

In a bigger, advanced fridge, this might be wasting electricity, as the fridge must work hard to return to the operating temperature every time you flick it back on. In a smaller, less sophisticated fridge, it might just be always on, anyway, so you'd actually be saving electricity.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:05 PM on October 1, 2007

Go ahead and unplug it overnight if the noises are bothering you. Then invest in a new refrigerator as soon as you can.
posted by amyms at 10:56 PM on October 1, 2007

Plug it into a simple timer switch, and make sure it's always got as much water inside it as possible: fill every nook and cranny that isn't full of Bawls with bottles of tap water. Water has a very high specific heat, and will stabilize the interior temperature beautifully.
posted by flabdablet at 2:39 AM on October 2, 2007 [3 favorites]

My grandfather lost a case of beer once in a bet.

He was a sore loser, and had my mother take the whole case of beer and plunge it from a sink full of cold water into a sink full of hot water a few times, effectively skunking every drop.

I can't say how much the temperature of that fridge will change overnight, and it may be totally fine. Just be aware that yeah, your tasty beverages can be adversely affected.
posted by Andrhia at 12:59 PM on October 2, 2007

By the way, it probably won't save much electricity. The average rate that a fridge uses electricity is pretty much proportional to the average rate that heat leaks back into it. This, in turn, is pretty much proportional to the average temperature difference between inside and outside. So unless you're leaving the fridge turned off for long enough at a time that the inside gets significantly close to room temperature on average, the energy you save by leaving it off all night will mostly get used up again the first time it switches on in the morning.

Putting a lot of thermal mass inside, as I've suggested you do, will actually make the morning burst use more juice than if you don't: the interior will be staying colder overnight, which maximizes the temperature difference between interior and exterior, and therefore draws in more heat than if you'd allowed the interior temperature to rise.

Basically, the colder the average temperature of your beer, the more electricity you're going to use. Thermal mass will stabilize the interior temperature, but power-wise it isn't a free lunch.

If you want to save electricity in a small fridge, the best things you can do, in reverse order of effect size, are: (a) glue a heap more insulating foam all around the outside of it to slow heat transfer from outside to inside (b) turn up the temperature so your beer is kept only just cold enough (c) make sure the condenser coils on the back are clean and well-ventilated to improve the efficiency of heat rejection to the room air. All three is better still.
posted by flabdablet at 5:39 PM on October 2, 2007