If it’s ten, it’s time to ask a blunt question: is it chilling your food, or your bank account?
The kitchen was still half‑asleep when the hum started. Kettle on, phone face‑down, and the smart meter’s little bars climbing for no obvious reason. The fridge door stuck for a beat, then released with a soft sigh, scattering a few ice crystals from the freezer like confetti on the tiles. That bag of salad you swore you’d eat feels a touch too limp, and the milk isn’t as cold as it should be. The sides of the cabinet are oddly warm, as if it’s been holding its breath all night. You hear the motor kick in again… and then again, barely a minute later. Your bill has been creeping up, and this box of cold air is suddenly the prime suspect. Something doesn’t add up. And it’s not just the lettuce wilting.
When an old fridge starts costing you more than it cools
You know the sound when a fridge is working too hard — a throatier hum, longer cycles, that faint tick of expansion as heat builds in the cabinet walls. On a tous déjà vécu ce moment où l’on ouvre la porte, on reste là à rêvasser, et un petit courant d’air tiède nous rappelle que le moteur tourne à plein. A thin frost fur on the back wall, water beading on jars, and the light feels warmer than the shelf beneath it — these are small flags that your compressor is doing laps it can’t win.
Take Sarah in Leeds: her 2009 “A+” fridge‑freezer looked fine, but a £15 plug‑in energy monitor told the real story — about 1.1 kWh a day. At 28p per kWh, that’s roughly £112 a year just to keep the butter spreadable. She swapped to a modern E‑rated model using 0.4 kWh a day, cutting the annual cost near £70 and keeping raspberries actually red. One boring meter, one quiet shock, and a clear decision.
What’s happening inside is simple physics and tired parts. Insulation loses its edge as foam takes on moisture, door gaskets flatten, and a decade of dust turns condenser coils into a furry jumper. That forces the compressor to run longer to hold 4°C, spiking your duty cycle and your bill. And those old EU “A+” badges don’t translate to today’s labels — a fridge that once bragged “A++” often lands around F now, which says a lot about the gap between what it was and what it is.
Test it before you toss it: small checks, real answers
Start with two tools: a plug‑in energy meter and a cheap fridge thermometer. Run the meter for a full week to flatten daily quirks, then note the kWh and multiply by your tariff. Pop the thermometer in a glass of water on the middle shelf for a truer read of food temperature, not just air, and aim for 3–5°C; your freezer should hold near −18°C, not “somewhere under zero”.
Next, pinch a strip of paper in the door and tug — if it slides out easily, the seal is costing you money with every midnight snack. Pull the unit forward and vacuum the coils or the grille; if you’ve never done it, prepare for a small dust storm. Leave at least a hand’s width behind the fridge so heat can escape, and wipe the drain hole if you spot a little lake under the crisper. Soyons honnêtes : personne ne fait vraiment ça tous les jours.
If your usage sits north of 0.9 kWh per day and the motor runs more than it rests, you’re paying for heat, not cold. Think patterns, not moments: is the compressor cycling on‑off‑on within a minute, or droning for long stretches as if pulling a trailer? Does the side of the cabinet feel hotter than a warm mug, or is there a patch of frost that never melts on the back wall? These clues don’t require a toolbox, just a hand and a little attention.
“After ten years, I tell people to check three things: seals, coils, and cycles,” says Mark, a refrigeration engineer in Bristol. “If two are bad, a new machine pays you back faster than a third repair.”
- Target temps: 4°C fridge, −18°C freezer
- Daily use: ideally 0.3–0.6 kWh for a mid‑size modern unit
- Noise and heat: louder hum + hot sides = hard work
- Frost and puddles: each hints at airflow or drain issues
- Repairs: beyond 40% of replacement cost is rarely worth it
When to pull the plug — and what to buy next
Draw a line when the numbers and the nags stack up. If repairs top 40% of the price of a good replacement, if you’ve had two faults in a year, or if your meter shows 300+ kWh a year for a modest 60–70 cm model, you’re feeding a habit. Today’s efficient fridge‑freezers with inverter compressors often sip 150–220 kWh a year; at 28p per kWh, that’s roughly £42–£62, and the gap adds up fast against a 10‑year‑old unit burning £100‑£160. It stings to part with a faithful appliance, but the maths is colder than anything on the middle shelf. Look for newer labels in the A–C range if your budget stretches, or a solid D/E unit with a long motor warranty, R600a refrigerant, and adjustable shelves that match how you actually eat. Measure the doorway, think about hinge side, and pick a finish that hides the fingerprints you already know are coming.
| Point clé | Détail | Intérêt pour le lecteur |
|---|---|---|
| Running cost reality | Old fridges often use 0.9–1.5 kWh/day vs 0.3–0.6 for new | Spot savings of £60–£150 per year |
| Repair vs replace | 40% of new price is a sensible cut‑off | Avoid pouring cash into diminishing returns |
| Quick checks | Meter, thermometer, seal test, coil clean | Decide with facts, not vibes |
FAQ :
- How long should a fridge last in the UK?Most run 10–15 years. Beyond a decade, efficiency drops and parts fatigue, so expect higher bills and more call‑outs.
- What’s a normal daily energy use for a modern fridge‑freezer?Roughly 0.3–0.6 kWh for a standard 60 cm unit, depending on size, temperature, and how often you open it.
- Will cleaning coils really save money?Yes — dirty coils trap heat, forcing longer cycles. A five‑minute clean can shave 5–15% off consumption in dusty homes.
- Is “A+” still good on the label?That’s the old scale. Many A+/A++ models map to today’s E–G. Compare actual kWh per year, not the letter alone.
- Should I choose frost‑free or manual defrost?Frost‑free is easier and keeps efficiency steadier. Manual defrost can be thriftier on paper but only if you actually defrost. And you won’t often.
Here’s the twist: a tired fridge doesn’t just cost you in watts, it changes how you shop and cook. When veg spoils faster or the freezer bites into bread, you stop trusting what’s behind that door. **That small, daily friction is the invisible tax of an ageing appliance.** Swap it and the kitchen feels calmer, the meter settles down, and leftovers live to see a second dinner. Share the meter reading with a friend who’s still clinging to their 2012 “it’s fine” special, or ask the group chat to guess your old fridge’s kWh and see who’s closest. You might start a minor revolution on your street — one quiet, efficient hum at a time.
