Fridge Facts and Letter for Mom

Long time no updates, so here I come with some facts and knowledge for this post. Why fridge? Here are the reasons:

1) We own at least one fridge at home.
2) Fridge releases CO₂ and SO₂, which each causes climate change and acidic rain.
3) We pay a big amount for a fridge to run a year.
4) I hate thermodynamics cause it speaks a language that I find hard to understand. But when it comes to fridge, I gradually become fond of the subject (though it's late. study week maaa)

So this post will help you out there, despite the facts that you're afford to pay the bill, staying far away from the city or even living your whole life convinced that you've been breathing fresh air every morning and sleep sound at the night. The REAL facts are here:

1) You're pocket is full to pay the bill. But the heat generated from the electrical appliances you own can NEVER BE DESTROYED. Even your money can't. The fact is, the more you pay on your bill, the more you violate the earth.
2) While you're breathing fresh air, or even sleeping soundly, there's a part in the globe that is suffering because of your beloved refrigerator that keeps your favorite Haagen Dazs cold. And it is the atmosphere. The ozone. Scientifically O₃.

With this, bear in mind that there is still something that you can do for the environment while you're owning a fridge. The amount of energy consumed by the fridge can be minimized by practicing conservation measures below:

1) Open the refrigerator door as FEWEST times possible for the SHORTEST duration possible.
Each time the door is opened, the cool air inside is replaced by the warmer air outside; which of course needs to be cooled. The more often you open the door, the more your refrigerator works. The more the refrigerator works, the more energy it consumes. The more energy it consumes, the bigger the number appears in your bill. The bigger the number, the bigger you pay!

2) Cool the hot foods to room temperature before putting them into the refrigerator.
Reasons are as in 1). This should tell you (and myself) to stop putting your boiling-hot drinks in the fridge when your ice trays are empty. Worse, for the moms out there who have a habit of moving a hot pan from the oven directly, I advise you to stop your habit IMMEDIATELY. Your husband is working hard to pay for the house, but unluckily he never knew that he's actually paying for a refrigerator to work more!

3) Clean the condenser coils located behind or beneath the refrigerator.
The dust that collect on the coils acts as insulation that slows down heat dissipating from the coils. Cleaning the coils will improve cooling ability of the fridge and reduce power consumption by a few percent.

4) Check the door gasket for air leaks.
This can be done by placing a flashlight into the refrigerator, turning off the kitchen lights and looking for any light leaks. If you can find any leaks, get the door gaskets repaired immediately. Or else your money will flow through this leaks in your monthly bill. Believe me!

5) Avoid unnecessarily low temperature settings.
The recommended temperatures for freezers and refrigerators are -18°C and 3°C, respectively. Keeping temperatures 6°C below the recommended levels can increase power consumption by 25 percent.

6) Avoid excessive ice build-up on the interior surfaces of the evaporator.
The ice layer acts as insulation and slows down heat transfer from freezer section to the refrigerant, which will cause your freezer to work more.

7) Use the power-saver switch wisely.
You should know how this power-saver switch works. It actually controls the heating coils and prevent condensation on the outside of the surfaces in humid environment. When you turn the switch on, the low-wattage heaters will raise the temperature of the outer surfaces to prevent the formation of water droplets and thus avoid your kitchen floor from wet. I suggest that we people in Malaysia should not turn this power-saver on lah as we're living in a hot climate lah. Or else, we're actually paying for the fridge to heat our home! (unless that is what you want)

Done with the facts, so here's something from the reference book that I'd like to quote from

"...Replacing a 25-year-old, 0.5m3 refrigerator with a new energy-efficient model will save over 1000kWh of electricity per year. For the environment, this means a reduction over 1 ton of CO₂ and over 10kg of SO₂..."

At home, my mom owns an old refrigerator, which she's always proud of for keeping it for what, 20 years? Whenever she's using something that has the same age as her daughter and one of us is around, she would say this:

" Dah bepuloh taoon da mak gune bende ni. Sejak Tuut kecik lagi"
Translation: "I've been using this for a looong time. Since Tuut was kid." And the Tuut would be any of us. Most commonly, Sis Hanim la.

So here I'd like to write a letter to my beloved mom, Puan Zainon.

Mak,

Padanla bilik Nor yang berekedudukan dekat dengan dapur tu panas je selalu.. Rupenye peti sejuk National mak yang berpangkat kakak kpd Nor tu yang wat bilik Nor tak ubah macam bilik sauna.. Kalau mak masuk bilik Nor, mak komen, bilik Nor panas.. Nor sedar, sebab tu la mak selalu baring kat lantai kalo mak masuk bilik Nor kan? Tapi mak tahu tak, peti hijau mak tu jahat, mak.. Die keluarkan 1 tan karbon dioksida dan 10 kg sulfur dioksida setaon mak.. 1 tan karbon dioksida tu la yang masuk bilik Nor agaknye.. Tu yang wat bilik Nor tu jadi panas semacam je mak..

Mak,

Nor kekadang terfikir jugak.. Camne leh umah kite tu boleh ade 3 peti sejuk plus 1 freezer.. Umah kite tu sekarang ade 4 orang je.. Tapi makanan dalam fridge tu sentiase penuh. Kadang2 bile Nor balik, tolong mak kat dapur (walaupun menyibuk je), bile mak mintak tolong Nor amek barang dalam fridge, Nor kene check sampai 3 peti sejuk, baru jumpe barang tu.. Isk3.. Nor bukan mengeluh, mak.. Cume kite ade care yang dapat menjimatkan mase untuk memasak..

Mak,

Ape kate, drpd umah kite ade 3 fridge dan 1 freezer, kite tolak sume fridge kat kedai barang letrik, pastu beli fridge yang energy-efficient bak kate buku Nor.. Mak oleh beli fridge yang ade LCD screen tu skali.. Mak leh tengok resepi masak online, dengar lagu.. Mak sure suke camni kan? Kalo mak tak wat camni mak, bil letrik yang mak bayar bulan2 untuk sume fridge tu bersamaan dgn mak pasang air-cond kat bilik Nor.. Kalo ade air-cond kat bilik Nor, bile mak penat memasak, mak boleh masuk bilik Nor sejukkan badan.. Ye tak?

Nor harap mak terimalah cadangan Nor ni.. Nor bukan ape, kesian tengok mak bayar bil banyak2 tiap bulan..

P/S : I Love You..

Waktu aku menulis surat ni, aku da terbayang surat mak aku camne bunyinye. Camni:

Nor,

Mak kesian sebenarnye tengok Nor kepanasan dalam bilik tu.. Tapi inilah pandangan mak.. Harap Nor tak berkecil hati dengan ape yang bakal mak cakapkan ni..

Nor,

Ape ko lupe ke yang peti2 sejuk tu, satu mak pakai sejak Kak Nim ko kecik, satu abah belikan sebab mak nak jugak rase gune peti sejuk baru, satu lagi Kak Ida ko punye yang die angkut dari rumah sewa yang die duduk dulu. Freezer tu, kan Auntie Rahil yang bagi.. Ape ko dah lupe? Lagi satu, ape ko dah lupe mak ko ni menjage kanak2 kat umah ni? Da pangkat sekolah da umah kite ni nak oi, boleh pulak ko cakap umah ni ade 4 orang je?

Yang pasal pasang air-cond kat bilik ko tu, mak tak setuju. Ko yang bengap, belaja tinggi2, tapi konsep air-cond pon ko tak paham betol2. Kalo ko tak tau, bilik ko tu panas sebab ko tak pernah bukak tingkap bilik ko tu, Air-cond berfungsi macam tu la, udara panas keluar. Mak konpem, kalo ko bukak tingkap bilik ko pasni, sejuk je bilik ko tu..

Nor,

Janganla salahkan peti sejuk tu sebab jadi sebab bil letrik kite jadi mahal.. Ko tu pon ape kurangnye, ko tak bukak tingkap siang2 ari, suke ati ko je bukak lampu bilik ko 24 jam. Waktu tidur bukak lampu, pastu bukak lagu sampaikan jiran sebelah pun boleh terbangun!

Setakat ni je lah surat mak kali ni. Mak nak masak ni. Budak2 dah lapa!

P/S : Mak sayang ko jugak!

Any solution?