People are only just realising stuffing your freezer with newspaper can save on energy bills
HOUSEHOLDS can stuff their empty freezers with newspapers to reduce their energy bills.
Keeping your freezer filled up is an important trick to help reduce your energy bills by reducing your energy consumption.
And a bit of scrunched-up newspaper is all you need.
Kitchen appliances add hundreds to household energy bills every year - and your fridge freezer isn't exempt.
The average integrated fridge freezer currently costs £77 a year to run, according to USwitch.
But you can still keep costs down by ensuring that your freezer is running at maximum efficiency.
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Savings expert at discounts platform Deal.Town, Sam Whillance, explained to how Britons can easily keep costs down this winter with some clever storage hacks.
It's Sam, who recommends that households with half-full freezers fill them up with newspapers.
He said: "Simply move food items towards the outer sides of your freezer and stuff the interior spaces with newspaper.
"This way, you are keeping your freezer at maximum capacity."
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And as most of the energy your freezer uses goes towards cooling down the air that comes in when you open the freezer door - a fuller freezer leaves less room for warmer air.
Sam said: "So, when your freezer is full, there is less room for warmer air to come in, and the items that are in there will help to cool down any warmer air that does sneak in."
Households can use other items to fill the gaps too.
The Sun previously reported that bags of water can help fill up your freezer and cut your energy bills.
Sam also explained that households could keep their freezer full and reduce their consumption by using small pieces of styrofoam or packaging peanuts to help close up any gaps that would allow more warm air in.
In response to the newspaper trick, one person on Twitter recommended bringing home free papers so you won't have to spend a penny on the trick.
They said: "Free newspapers are good for filling the empty space in the freezer. Saves electricity."
The homeless charity Crisis has also reacted to the trick on Twitter in recent days by highlighting the trick.
It said: "Keeping your fridge and freezer as full as possible saves energy.
"If you haven’t that much food, use newspapers or blankets to fill it up."
Other tips to cut fridge freezer costs
Keep fridge freezers clean to save £45 a year.
Freestanding and American models cost £84 and £120 respectively to run, which will increase to £89 and £127 a year from October.
If you don't defrost your freezer compartment regularly, it could add as much as £150 a year to your bill.
The frost buildup increases the amount of work your freezer's motor has to do.
And if the motor is working harder, then this means it's using more energy.
You can chip away at any build-up once it starts to look a little glacial inside and then your energy bill won't have to take such a hit.
It's also important to clean the condenser coils on the back of the appliance, as dust on the coils can prevent the fridge from cooling properly.
Dust on the condenser coils can reduce the efficiency by as much as 25% says Which?.
You can vacuum away the dust and dirt to get your fridge freezer working more efficiently again which should bring down your energy usage.
Replace damaged door seals to ensure cold air cannot escape and be wasted and let food cool down completely before refrigerating.
New seals are often available online for £30 to £100.
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Not keeping your fridge freezer clean could cost a whopping £45 more each year.
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If you're looking to replace an old model with a new eco-friendly version you could save £138 on your energy bills each year.