- The above is the annual energy consumption of a new refrigerator in the United States over time, according to the EIA. It has fallen by more than two thirds since the first oil shock in 1973.
- New York Times contemplating life after fossil fuels.
- The Freelancer's Union is attempting to make life better for independent contractors in a world in which work is less secure.
6 comments:
does that chart mean my 1951 International Harvester refrigerator was more efficient than the new Amana i bought to replace it?
rjs - I'm guessing the rise from 1950 to 1970ish is mainly due to refrigerators getting a lot bigger over that period. Just a guess, however.
Appliances have become more efficient - the problem is that with bigger houses, Americans have more appliances.
Fridges got bigger, but it was also the addition of automatic defrost as well, something that I don't think came into common use until the 1960s. Automatic defrost timers and heaters made refrigerator power consumption go up. Auto defrost can really suck up electricity, especially before the introduction of adaptive defrost controls - that is, microprocessor-based controllers that keep track of evaporator core defrost temperatures versus time and can better avoid unnecessary, extra defrost cycles.
the freezer in the '51 IH was just two open shelves, probably aluminum, hanging from the top of the refrigerator...it did build up ice & needed a periodic defrosting...
it was still working when i had it hauled out 3 or 4 years back, but the door seal was breaking off & a replacement was unavailable, & other hardware was also in disrepair..
For information, latest Jean Laherrère modeling :
http://i.bnet.com/blogs/laherrere_all_liquids_production_1900-2200.jpg
From :
http://tribune-pic-petrolier.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/oilgasprodforecasts-JL-1.pdf
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