Fridge Power Consumption?

[Dolby]

I've had it once before that a freezer stopped working and the food spolied. So I thought I'd connect my Shelly 1PM to at least alert me *if* the fridge stops drawing power.

But someone pointed out the when the compressor stops, the fridge may use next to nothing in power? Anyone know if that's true?

Sounds unlikely as there must be more to a fridge than a compressor?

I can't go lower than 1w which I'm assuming is fine - but I don't want to move the fridge to test

 

[xumwun]

Unless you have the door open it will likely be taking no power without the compressor running.

 

[bwana]

Unless you have the door open it will likely be taking no power without the compressor running.

Mine idles at 15/16w with the door closed, 21w with the door open (LED bulb), and up to 220w when the compressor(s?) kick in.

EDIT: It also depends on the fridge. Mine has a display unit on the door that is always on.

 

[Dolby]

Mine idles at 15/16w with the door closed, 21w with the door open (LED bulb), and up to 220w when the compressor(s?) kick in.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear - so then anything lower than the 1w would indicate a dead fridge.

Thanks!

 

[RedViking]

Whenever there is load-shedding I assume my fridge is off.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

A more reliable test would be a temperature sensor. Your compressor can still run but if there is a fault, it won't chill.

This is a common problem with brand new appliances, people hear it running, fill it up with meat only to discover a rotten smell later.

I sold fridges for a short while and quickly learnt this from reps and manufacturers. The whole let it recover 24 hours after moving on its side is unrelated to failure (half a myth for another thread) and just a warranty excuse.

 

[SauRoNZA]

That's exactly what I wanted to hear - so then anything lower than the 1w would indicate a dead fridge.

Thanks!

Anything less than 15w.

Run it for a week and look at the graphs for minimal values and then set it accordingly.

It could consume more than 1w and still be dead.

 

[rrh]

A more reliable test would be a temperature sensor. Your compressor can still run but if there is a fault, it won't chill.

This is a common problem with brand new appliances, people hear it running, fill it up with meat only to discover a rotten smell later.

I sold fridges for a short while and quickly learnt this from reps and manufacturers. The whole let it recover 24 hours after moving on its side is unrelated to failure (half a myth for another thread) and just a warranty excuse.

If you want a "proper" solution then @Other Pineapple Smurf 's suggestion is the only way to go.

A faulty thermostat (for example) will cause the compressor to run continuously without chilling the interior..

OTOH the compressor should not run continuously: if correctly sized it should cycle i.e. turn off when the desired temperature is reached.

 

[EvoX]

Fridge not cold, fridge not work.

 

[Dolby]

Thanks.

How do you get the temperature sensor into the fridge in a neat fashion though?

 

[Dolby]

I'm trying my Flood detector with temperature sensor the next few days to see how it would. It reports weak signal but I'll see what I can do about it

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Thanks.

How do you get the temperature sensor into the fridge in a neat fashion though?

You could build an ESP device that uses low power wifi (or is it that mifi?). I bought one for my garage door (open/close sensor) and a temp sensor one would work the same. The garage sensor has a 1yr battery live.

We tried building our own but there was a shortage of newer ESP boards.

 

[janplank]

For monitoring my freezer, I used a sonoff basic R1 with a ds18b20 sensor. Soldered onto ribbon wire because it is flat, thus no openings on door. Stuck sensor into the freezer.
Added a timer to relay to switch freezer on 15 minutes after it received power. HA to send me a notification directly to my phone if temp goes above -10°C for 5 minutes. Flashed with Tasmota. Monitor temp remotely too.