Why You Should Defrost Your Freezer To Save Energy

Looking to chill out and save energy? Here’s a handy tip on why you should defrost your freezer to save energy.

Your freezer is a sustainability superhero when it comes to reducing your food waste. It keeps your meals and ingredients fresh for much longer periods than you could in the fridge.

However, like any superhero, your freezer does need a little maintenance to perform at its best. Defrosting your freezer, for example, helps keep your frozen produce in tip-top condition for longer. However, did you know the simple act of maintenance can save you serious amounts of money on your energy bills?

It’s true. Here’s why that’s the case. And in this age of super high energy bills and all the other price hikes at the moment, saving money on our energy bills certainly does help you chill out.

Why Defrosting Your Freezer Saves Energy

Wondering why you should defrost your freezer to save energy? Well, it’s a really important thing to do, especially if it’s looking a bit glacier-like in there.

You might think that freezers are supposed to be icy. But frost build-up inside a freezer acts like insulation – just not the kind you want. This is because your freezer needs to transfer heat from the inside walls to the evaporator coils – the part that removes heat from your freezer and keeps things at a nice even temperature.

That build-up of ice means the temperature of the coils has to drop much lower to remove the same amount of heat to keep a consistent temperature in your freezer.

Overall, that means that frost buildup in your freezer increases the amount of work your freezer’s motor has to do. If the motor is working harder, then this means it’s using more energy.

How Much You Can Save

Keeping your freezer fairly frost-free means savings for the environment and for you. After all, even a small layer of frost – just a few millimetres thick – can increase your freezer’s energy use by as much as 10%. If left unchecked, heavy frost can lead to energy use skyrocketing by as much as 30%.

Without layers of frost acting as an unwanted insulator, cold air can circulate freely, meaning your appliance doesn’t have to strain to keep your food frozen. This translates to lower electricity usage, reduced wear and tear on the appliance, and ultimately, a longer lifespan for your freezer.

Not convinced? This Is Money said over ten years ago that you can save £100 to £200 a year just by defrosting your freezer. I can’t quite work out what that would be in 2025 (the maths just isn’t mathing today!), but let’s just say that it’s more than a pretty penny!

How to Defrost Your Freezer Efficiently

I know it’s a total pain in the bum to defrost your freezer. We defrosted ours last week. Without the luxury of a second freezer to store the food in, it meant that in the run-up to the big defrost we had to eat everything that was in the freezer to prevent waste.

It was worth it though. We can find everything easily now, without feeling like a polar explorer, and our bills will be lower.

If you’ve been spurred on to give yours a good defrost, this is the most efficient way I’ve found:

What You Will Need

If like me, you don’t have the luxury of a frost-free freezer, then you need to defrost it. To defrost a freezer efficiently, you will need:

• A couple of towels to protect your floor.
• A dish shallow enough to sit under the freezer’s drainage spout that you’ll be prepared to empty frequently.
• Some bowls to sit in your freezer.

What To Do

• Empty all the food from your freezer – either decanting it into a second freezer, a cool box or similar.
• Remove any freezer drawers, and wipe them down.
• Switch off your freezer at the wall. Very carefully place a bowl of boiled water on each shelf and keep the freezer door open. This helps to speed up the thawing process. Take great care to keep any small children or pets out of the kitchen to avoid accidents.
• However tempting it may be, do not under any circumstances hack at the ice with a knife, hammer, or any other tool. Instead, have patience and just leave your freezer to defrost on its own, rather than risk puncturing the pipes. Don’t pour boiling water on your freezer either, as this could also cause the pipes to burst.
• Once the water is melted, mop up any puddles of water, and clean your freezer with your cleaner of choice. I tend to use my homemade cleaning spray for jobs like this.
• Pop your drawers back in, and switch the freezer back on. Voila!

More Energy-Saving Top Tips

If you’re looking for more ways to save energy, then I’ve got you.

• Here’s why you should fill your freezer for maximum energy efficiency.
• Here’s why you should dust your fridge to save energy
• And here’s how to save energy using your dishwasher