The refrigerator: A storage place for everything?

A fur coat in the fridge is perhaps a rarity. However, former SUM Master student Min Qian saw a clear tendency to store all kinds of food items in the fridge, even those that would keep just fine in the pantry, during her recent study of the refrigeration practices of Norwegian households.

 Refrigeration technology is under continuous development, resulting in decreased energy consumption per cubic meter refrigerated space. Considering this, the percentage of household energy consumption stemming from refrigeration (currently estimated to lie around 3,8 percent) should decrease.

This is, however, not the case. Energy saved by the implementation of more energy efficient refrigeration technologies is consumed by the rebound effect. This effect refers to the behavioural response to the introduction of more resource-efficient technologies which tends to offset the positive effect of these technologies.

In this case consumers increase the refrigeration capacity in their homes by acquiring more energy-efficient appliances in addition to, rather than instead of, their original appliance. As Qian states in her thesis: “[…]research on the lifespan of refrigerators and freezers has shown that more than 68 per cent of the refrigerators and 57 per cent of the freezers that worked in the households were not replaced by energy-efficient new ones but actually disposed of as back-up machines in the storeroom or basement.”

The reasons for this are socially embedded, and the increased demand for refrigeration capacity springs from social conventions and practices. Traditional foraging practices like hunting, fishing or berry and mushroom-picking and  an increasing tendency to shop in bulk so as to save time create a need to store large quantities of food. In addition, nutritional trends favoures more temperature-sensitive foods and misleading energy-efficiency labeling favouring large appliances that consume less energy per cubic metre contribute to a shrinking market for smaller fridges and freezers.

Some of these tendencies are in part caused by various governmental policies. The favouring of larger shopping centres over local convenience stores is one. Focus is more often than not put on the energy efficiency of each appliance, while the factors concerning the consumer and habits of consumption are ignored.

Qian’s thesis concludes that it could be possible to achieve a more appropriately anchored reduction in energy consumption by targeting routines and social practice in addition to the development of energy efficient technologies.

There are currently several innovative ways in which to decrease the refrigeration needs of under development. Using age-old techniques it is possible to store a great number of items now routinely put in a fridge for quite some time in room temperature. For inspiration, take a look at this article presenting innovative shelving systems designed to make each food item last for as long as possible outside the fridge: Saving Food From The Fridge

Source: 'Towards Less Refrigeration-dependent Home Practices', by Min Qian (2011)
 

By Frøydis Brekken Elvik