Which costs more to run - a full freezer or an empty freezer?

Question

A long drawn out debate - love to hear some answers with explanations...

Answer 1

Empty because there is more space to cool down....

Answer 2

Over time a full freezer will be more efficient. The product at first will need to be cold soaked which then is stored energy. An empty unit will cycle more often over time because the air will not store the energy as well. The more often the motor starts, the more power consumed. As a rule the motor starts draws 150% of full load running amps with each start. A good example is your car gets good mileage when on the highway and not in stop-go traffic. I will freeze water in my unit when near empty for this reason, and then will most always use it later.

Answer 3

A full freezer can stay colder, longer because all the food becomes frozen and gives off cold air. An empty freezer must rely solely on the engery to run the freezer. Nothing in there to help maintain the temp.

Answer 4

There are a number of factors. If you open your freezer quite often, a full one will be cheaper to run. On the other hand, air is easier to cool than the stuff you put into the freezer, so in the beginning, the empty freezer is cheaper to run.

Answer 5

A empty freezer cost more to run. A full freezer, the food is acting like blocks of ice, keeping the inside temperature constant, hence the compressor doesn't have to cycle on as often. The only way to prove it to yourself is to plug a watt meter (you can buy one at Radio Shack, or on line) between the freezer and outlet. When the freezer is pretty full, it uses less electricity than when it's pretty empty.

Answer 6

An empty freezer is cheaper because a full freezer will get opened more therefore letting out the cold. There would be no reason to open an empty one!!!

Answer 7

an empty freezer costs more to run because it is always trying to freeze just cold are and it cant once food is frozen its easy to keep it frozen plus with an empty freezer each time you open the door all the cold air rushes out and warm air rushes in if its full that cant happen if my freezer was almost empty i used to keep empty 3ltr drink bottles in it as they would keep all the cold air trapped inside them but the fuller you can keep your freezer the cheaper it is to run also if you have a power cut and only have a few items in it it will defrost a lot quicker but if its full it will stay colder a lot longer or put it this way a very large block of ice will take ages to melt at room temperature but an ice cube will melt in minutes

Answer 8

an empty freezer costs more...it's just keeping empty space cool. a full freezer is more efficient as the frozen food can help in keeping the space cold.

Answer 9

A freezer that is about 3/4 full is the most effecient.

Answer 10

An empty freezer. It takes less energy to simply maintain the temp of whatever is already frozen.

Answer 11

full freezer is more efficient - it takes more energy to cool empty space