Should you unplug your fridge when you go on vacation to save money?

July and August are highly anticipated months because they are synonymous with vacations. But before closing the house, some questions arise such as: should you unplug your fridge to save money? Is it really worth it? We looked into the subject.

Please note that if you are going on vacation for more than 15 days, it is recommended to turn off and unplug your fridge during this period, for several reasons.

First, if the power goes out, the food in your refrigerator could rot.

Second, turning off your device will save you energy while you are away. In fact, by 2023, the Figaro website explained that a “A refrigerator with a freezer compartment consumes around 350kWh per year, and almost 1kWh/day. The current price (in July 2023) of electricity in France being 0.2062€/kWh, unplugging your fridge for two weeks will save you around 3€. If you leave for the whole month of August, you will save more than 6€”. So, you can actually spend less by having this simple reflex when you go on vacation.

However, not everyone can afford to unplug their refrigerator, especially because of the freezer. In fact, turning off the fridge would also mean turning off the frozen food section and then all its contents would be damaged when you return.

To avoid this, you can opt for the mode “vacation” present on many appliances. This feature has the advantage of keeping the freezer running. In addition, as a fridge that is not very full will tend to consume more to reach the ideal temperature, this “holiday” mode allows you to save energy while preserving food at the right temperature.

In fact, with this feature the refrigerator will make a distinction between the different compartments, as explained the La Dépêche website. It will thus maintain the refrigerator part at around 15 degrees. Which will be sufficient to store bottles for example.

Please note that the option “vacation” is usually symbolized by a drawing of nature or a parasol on your device. It can also be written as “vacation” in English.

Now you know what to do to leave with peace of mind, heading for the holidays!