Why the bigger your refrigerator, the bigger you get

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The larger the refrigerator, the more fresh food on the table? If! The larger the refrigerator, the higher the electricity bills and the more weight. Why this happens, we will consider in this article.

Evolution hasn't had time to adapt our bodies to processed food, which is produced by food corporations and which fills stores with colored boxes. She will not be able to do this in a hundred, and even in a thousand years. Slava Baransky, "Doubt"

The refrigerator is a vivid symbol of the consumer culture of modern society. He beckons us at night and haunts us in commercial breaks. At the same time, there is a noticeable trend: refrigerators have “grown” in recent years. They consume more and more space in the kitchen, electricity, our money and willpower. Why this happens and what is the harm from a large refrigerator, we will discuss in this article.

Types of refrigerators

In Soviet times, the refrigerator was a luxury. In the 1960s in the USSR, only 5, 3% of families could afford this household appliance. By the 1980s, most of the houses still had miniature "Minsky", "Dons" and "ZILs". These were refrigeration units, small in size and volume, where the freezing compartment did not stand out into a separate chamber, but was just a closed shelf inside.

Later, they began to produce two-compartment refrigerators (at the same time, they became taller and wider). Now there are European and Asian refrigeration units. In the first case, the freezer compartment is at the bottom, and in the second, at the top. In terms of total volume, refrigerators in Europe and Asia are usually no more than 280-300 liters.

But so-called American side-by-side refrigerators are also sold. They are much wider than European ones, they have two doors that open in opposite directions (on one side there is a freezer, on the other - a refrigerator compartment). Moreover, the volume of such devices reaches 700 liters or more.

Freeze money

A refrigerator is one of the most expensive household appliances in terms of electricity consumption. After all, he works around the clock. The amount of energy consumed depends on the volume of the device. Typically, the annual energy consumption of a refrigerator is between 230 and 450 kWh. For comparison: the average laptop consumes 72 kWh per year, while the MacBook Air consumes about 25 kWh. In addition, the older the refrigerator, the more of your energy money it "freezes". At a cost of a kilowatt of about 3 rubles, the annual cost of electricity consumed by the refrigerator will range from 690 to 1,350 rubles.

Size matters

But the main disadvantage of large refrigerators is that the diet suffers from them. First, the smaller the freezer, the more often you have to go to the store. As a result, the fresher the products will be. A large refrigerator allows you to purchase once a week (or even less often), while giving preference to various semi-finished products.

Secondly, according to Brian Wansink, the head of the Food and Brands Research Lab at Cornell University, professor of nutritional science, Brian Wansink, who has been researching the eating behavior of people for many years, families with large refrigerators consume more food. For example, if you have a large freezer (and a large machine), there is a high probability that you will buy several packs of ice cream instead of one (in reserve - “Let it be!”, “What if the guests come!”). In turn, this increases the chances of you serving in larger portions or eating with additives.

Consumption symbol

As mentioned at the beginning, the refrigerator is one of the symbols of consumer culture. According to a report from the National Council for the Conservation of Resources (USA), the average American throws away about 25% of the food and drink they buy. One of the reasons for this unreasonable shopping behavior is the huge refrigerators. People forget what is stored in them, and it seems to them that one more package of cheese will not be superfluous (“It won’t be lost - in the fridge!”).

In addition, many people store in the refrigerator even those products that do not require it. So, sometimes fresh onions and potatoes are put in the refrigerator. But the refrigerator is not only cold, but also humid - mold can form on these vegetables. Do not store baked goods and various spices and sauces in the refrigerator. The ideal environment for them is room temperature.

Finally, a small refrigerator significantly saves space in the kitchen (which is especially important for Khrushchev). A single-chamber refrigerator looks like a toy, but in fact it is quite enough for, for example, storing milk or dishes prepared for tomorrow.