Re: New Fridge - setting up monitoring

["Robert Green" <robert_green1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"ransley" <Mark_Ransley@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:42e1accc-aef6-45cc-8f76-af511591ccc2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Aug 4, 6:52 am, "Robert Green" <robert_green1...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Just got a new fridge, and I thought I would try monitoring operating
> parameters with my home automation system. I 've got sensors for kWhs
used,
> ambient room temperature, freezer and refrigerator temps and the
temperature
> of a sensor on the back of the unit. I was hoping this should give me
> enough of a baseline to be able to detect "out of whack" conditions before
> they show up in a puddle on the floor or a failure to cool.
>
> I discovered in my old fridge that as freon leaked, the kilowatt hours
used
> shot way up before I noticed the problem in the fridge temp (that became
> obvious on a very hot day when we had the A/C off and the kitchen temp was
> about 20 degrees over normal. Unfortunately, on the old box, I didn't have
> good baseline figures from the early on when it worked well. That's why I
> am trying to determine what information I need to be able to have my home
> automation system (HomeVision, CPU-XA, ActiveHome and more) record and
> process to alert me that there's an issue with the unit.
>
> I suspect that the electricity consumed daily will rise as the dust on the
> coils builds up. That should be detectable by looking at the average daily
> power used figure. I am recording ambient, backplate and internal temps as
> well in case the power usage increase is due to other factors, like this
> stinking endless heat wave. I also want a baseline on energy consumed and
> back plate temperature in case I decide to put a filter on the air intake
to
> minimize coil cleaning. I found out the hard way that an added filter can
> decrease air flow on some devices to the point of overheating the motor.
If
> the filter blocks too much airflow I would expect power consumption and
the
> back plate temperature to rise conspicuously.
>
> Reading this over, I realized I need two more monitors. A battery-backed
> dialer that can call my cellphone to tell me to buy dry ice because the
> power or compressor failed and a door alert to let me know if the dog
> manages to open the door again! She's been unable to do it with the new
box
> because the magnetic seal is incredibly strong - much stronger than the
old
> one. Took nearly ten pounds of pull as measured by a fish scale. But she
> might figure out how to do it in time. She's been watching very closely.
> In fact, I nearly spit out my coffee because she was eating when the new
> unit started up when it first arrived and she went off on it as if the
> fridge had made a move on her food. She's still not quite comfortable with
> it.
>
> Any suggestions on something I might have overlooked are cheerfully
welcome.
> Bad attempts at comedy or remarks on my sanity, with much less cheer. (-:
>
> --
> Bobby G.

Did you ever use a kill-a- watt meter, they are accurate, easy to use
and record Kwh usage over several days. They are great for doing you
own energy audit of most all apliances and devices.

Yes, that's what I was using to calculate the increasing power usage during
the fridge's final days.  I have four of them now - Fry's was selling out
the old model (where you had to do your own math) for $12 each so I got
three extra ones.  One to leave on the refrigerator 24x7, another to leave
on the window AC in the bedroom, a third to lend out to friends and a fourth
to be perpetually lost somewhere in the house.

--
Bobby G.