Having your fridge thermostat control just set at random, or what you feel is right can be wasteful. According to Which? even using recommended settings by the manufacturer doesn’t always assure the correct temperature. If the temperature is too cold, it’s wasting energy cooling it down more than necessary, but if it’s not quite cold enough your food and drink won’t last as long. For example, milk can last up to 10 days at 4 degrees, but only 7 days at 7 degrees. Similar differences can be found for vegetables like lettuce or broccoli.

Many fridges need regular temperature control adjustments

Unless by any chance your fridge automatically maintains the correct temperature it doesn’t make sense to keep it on the same setting month in month out. As ambient temperature changes throughout the year the thermostat may need slight adjustments to keep the temperature from getting too cold or too warm. Having a fridge thermometer inside (or at least popping it in occasionally if there’s no room to leave it in) will help you set the control optimally. This should be done at least between summer and winter. Adjusting it so it always feels cold is fine, but not necessarily optimal and you could save money by keeping the temperature between 0 and 5 degrees centigrade.

Many freezers and some modern fridges have digital temperature displays but many do not. Fridge and freezer thermometers can be bought for as little as $3 – $5.