The average American family pays $120 a year in electricity to run their refrigerator (up to 13% of your electricity each month).

Things to keep in mind when it comes to the refrigerator:

• Having two smaller refrigerators is less energy-efficient than one larger one.
• Brand new refrigerators use half as much energy as 10-year-old fridges, which means up to $60 in savings a year.
• The spare fridge in the garage or basement could actually be costing you up to $150 in electricity a year.

There are things you can do to improve the efficiency of your fridge:

• Choose the right spot for your fridge. Don't locate it next to the oven or in direct sunlight. This makes the fridge work harder than it should.
• Set your fridge temp a degree or two warmer. Most Americans' refrigerators are set colder than they need to be. The fridge portion should be set to 37 to 40 degrees F and the freezer should be set between 0 and 5 degrees F.
• If your fridge has an energy saving feature, use it. Also if your fridge has a butter conditioner (to keep butter soft) turn it off as this uses a lot of electricity.
• Throw out that old fridge. The extra fridge could be costing you hundreds a year in energy costs and could be contributing up to a ton of carbon dioxide a year. If you have the spare in the garage that is worse yet as the coils quickly become dirty and the seals become weak from the summer heat. Both of these things increase the inefficiency of that extra fridge.
• Make sure your door seals are tight. Place a piece of paper in the door and close it. There should be resistance when you pull the paper out of the door. If not, it is time to replace the seals.
• Clean the coils of your fridge. You can do this twice a year with a vacuum or brush. This will help your fridge run more efficiently.
• Open the doors as little as possible. This is easily achievable by placing foods with the label facing out and food organized in a logical manner.
• Keep your refrigerator full, but not too full. A full fridge runs more efficiently than an empty one. If your fridge does not have a lot of food in it, you can fill it with jugs of water, which will also reduce the amount of water wasted to get cold tap water.