On 8/6/2014 8:57 AM, Janet wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>>
>> On Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:46:08 -0500, Moe DeLoughan >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 8/5/2014 1:03 PM, Janet wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> "Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
>>>>> ...
>>>>>> I'm not sure how long it's been since the
>>>>>> last defrosting.
>>>>
>>>> Well, if you ever need a new freezer, be sure to get a frost-free one
>>>> that not only keeps the food better because it's so well insulated....
>>>> it never, ever needs defrosting and the contents will always be
>>>> recognisable.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I chose not to buy one, because the energy consumption difference
>>> between the frost-free models and the manual defrost models were so
>>> significant. I'd've ended up paying a lot more every year for the
>>> convenience. I'm too much of a cheapskate to do that.
>>
>> You save even more money by not having a stand alone freezer. 
>
> In Europe all fridges and freezers are sold with an energy
> efficiency rating and (tested) energy use. My frost-free fridge/freezer
> has the highest efficiency rating and its annual power use is 299
> Kilowat hours. Less than one Kw hour per day. (Considerably more
> efficient than its predecessor).
>
Yes, and when I compared the efficiency ratings between the manual
defrost model and the frost-free model, it became clear that the
convenience of not having to defrost every so often came at a
significant annual price. That was about ten years ago, I haven't
compared recent models, so I don't know if the difference is still so
significant. Thing is, I *hate* defrosting the freezer (my hands are
very sensitive to cold temperatures, so it is painful, even when
gloved), yet I opted for it because of the annual cost savings. I just
couldn't justify paying that price for not having to periodically
unpack/clean/repack the freezer.