Fridge efficiency - Full or Empty

[christofurry Member Find all posts View Profile Close christofurry]

Had a good fire place debate over the weekend and want a few more opinions.

Is a full fridge more efficient than an empty one??

I said a full fridge with everything at temperature is more efficient because of the thermal mass, but the counter argument was because of the mass it would take more energy to cool as the fridge cycles. Longer cycles, but longer between cycles.

Empty fridge, nothing to really keep cool so the cycles would be frequent but small.

We were both pretty sure there is solid science for this one, but maybe the rums were making remembering which way it went...

Poll and post your science

[Guest Close Guest]

You need to define the units of efficiency. Current per unit time or current per unit weight.

I would say that you are wasting your energy debating because obviously cold beer is better than warm beer.

[sweetpea Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sweetpea]

I would say that you are wasting your energy debating because obviously cold beer is better than warm beer.

From many years of astute scientific observation it is apparent that a full fridge of cold beer is continually changing state;

The door is frequently opened.
Cold beer is continually being removed.
Cold beer that is removed is sometimes replaced by warm or hot beer.
Most people who take cold beer from their fridge commonly start at or around midday (commonly referred to as beer-o'clock) and continue to sometimes near midnight thus making the ambient temperature change a significant factor.

As this question usually comes up over half way from beer-o'clock to stumps it is impossible to calculate the efficiency of the beer fridge and no-one gives a toss about the other fridge.

There are other factors involved but they are clearly insignificant in this context.

S

[JoshF Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoshF]

So using the beer filled value proposition in determining value, an empty beer fridge whilst being cold is actually a waste of space