The laws of physics leave me cold - so I seek help from the wise on here. Here’s the beef:
Our fridge is right by a window. From 10am - 1pm the sun shines through that window, and partially shines on the fridge door. ATMW (according to my wife…), this will cause the food in the fridge to go off faster, particularly in summer. Plus, opening and closing the fridge door allows that pesky sunlight to enter the fridge and cause further food damage.
ATMW, the same is true even if it is a cloudy day, as those food-rotting UV rays still shine through.
Does my beloved have a point here ? We argued bitterly this morning, but i’m willing to be very humble if she is right. I have found this re energy usage, which I do understand:
That’s funny nuit. I haven’t heard that one before, but that’s exactly like many of the nutty theories my wife is putting forth all the time. I had wondered if it was just her or do many Taiwanese make up these kind of crazy theories – taking a gut feeling, superstition or suspicion and raising it to the level of facts and science.
Seems bogus to me. The fridge must be very heavily insulated to keep the cold in; surely the effect of a little sunshine on the door is miniscule.
Your wife’s theory immediately struck a chord with me. I can’t presently recall one that’s more closely analagous, but here are a few from our household:
Never step on the door mat just inside our house while wearing indoor slippers, because you’ll dirty the slippers
Before riding it, always bring a rag downstairs to clean the seat of our bike that’s locked up out front, because it gets very dirty; moreover, consider removing your pants and throwing them in the laundry after riding it, because if you then sat on the couch you’d soil it
Never leave the windows open during the day because dirt will get in
After cooking something in the microwave, be sure to leave the microwave door open for it to air out
After taking a shower, use the squeegee to wipe all the water off the walls and floor into the drain, or else it will cause the room to become humid during the day (she does that one, not me)
Keep the sliding closet doors closed during the day to avoid dust getting inside
Unplug appliances such as TV, video player, etc, before leaving on vacation, to conserve energy
i would agree with all of those points, MT, except perhaps not lose so much sleep over the first one. have you seen the crap that accumulates next to the front door, or on a scooter seat?
as for the fridge question, i don’t believe that food will spoil faster if the fridge is in the sunlight, since it is the temperature that matters, and a fridge in working order should be able to keep its cool inside with no problems. The UV is completely irrelevant, as UV does not penetrate metal fridge cabinets. Hell, UV levels get attenuated just passing through a glass window.
Fridge cancer ? I’ve googled and I can’t find that.
I am meeting her for lunch right now. I will use the word attenuated and see where it gets me. Probably nowhere.
I like the list MT, I could put together a similar one I’m sure, except I try to forget all these silly points I’m asked to do. But ‘unplug appliances to save electricity’ rings bells.
Why is unplugging a bad idea? Some appliances get a base charge that adds up. I regularly leave my TV/Xbox/ps3 unplugged most of the week, only to plug them in when I want to use them.
Mmm, but even if these things get a base charge, it’s got to be minimal compared to the lights and fans that get left on in our house when she goes out for lunch. It’s like saving 1NT pieces whilist merrily burning blue notes.
Back to the fridge - we had lunch, we had another argument. Apparantly ‘any Taiwanese’ would agree with her on this issue. It’s the opening of the fridge, thus allowing the sun to raise the inner temp, and that rising and falling of the temp which is such a bad thing. Anyway, I think we’ve agreed to differ. And I forgot to use ‘attentuated’, which i’m pissed about.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Seems bogus to me. The fridge must be very heavily insulated to keep the cold in; surely the effect of a little sunshine on the door is miniscule.
Your wife’s theory immediately struck a chord with me. I can’t presently recall one that’s more closely analagous, but here are a few from our household:
Never step on the door mat just inside our house while wearing indoor slippers, because you’ll dirty the slippers
Before riding it, always bring a rag downstairs to clean the seat of our bike that’s locked up out front, because it gets very dirty; moreover, consider removing your pants and throwing them in the laundry after riding it, because if you then sat on the couch you’d soil it
Never leave the windows open during the day because dirt will get in
After cooking something in the microwave, be sure to leave the microwave door open for it to air out
After taking a shower, use the squeegee to wipe all the water off the walls and floor into the drain, or else it will cause the room to become humid during the day (she does that one, not me)
Keep the sliding closet doors closed during the day to avoid dust getting inside
Unplug appliances such as TV, video player, etc, before leaving on vacation, to conserve energy
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Boy! And I thought it was just in my house. Hell, I can’t even take my indoor slippers to the foyer mat to change to shoes because the slippers will get dirty.
ALWAYS rinse the toilet with the shower head after use - even if it doesn’t need it.
Don’t set my bag on the floor inside because it is “dirty”. Instead she puts down an old dirty newspaper to sit it on.
Don’t open the drapes in the bedroom because a neighbor might see our “private” room.
Don’t wear your slippers into the enclosed balcony because it is “dirty” out there, even though it gets cleaned just as often as the living room.
I guess it’s just a cultural thing but it really gets old.
It seems to me that a fridge will have to work harder to keep the temperature cold if it’s in a hot environment or if the strong sun is warming its exterior. If the fridge is not in great shape to begin with, it may not be able to restore the target temp quite as quickly as it should after the door has been open, which could lead to slightly faster spoilage. If it is in good working order this shouldn’t be a problem, but putting it in the hot sun may lead to higher electricity bills. The UV is completely irrelevant.
However, keeping one’s wife happy is more important than being right.
I must have a really good GF, the only complaints I get is about not having done the washing up…
Besides, she’s the one breaking all the rules
And no, having a fridge in direct sunlight isn’t going to make the least difference, opening the door or not.
The important thing, when it’s hot, is to open it as little as possible, as this puts less strain on the compressor and as such uses less electricity. Another way to go is to buy a modern, power efficient fridge from a known brand, as that’ll most likely save you more money if that’s the concern.
Oh, I did get bitched at for one thing, turning on the little portable radiator when it’s cold indoors, as “it’s not that cold”, so when am I supposed to switch it on then? When it snows?
[quote=“Nuit”]So it’s 3 hurrahs for nutty crazy theories :bravo:.But is she right?
You guys are very kind, but you’re sitting, fences, u know?
(apart from Tempo, who (gulp) is on my wife’s side…)[/quote]
Yep, I may have been in Taiwan too long
I will happily laugh at large swathes of Taiwanese culture/ideas (all in good fun now) but I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to food spoilage issues… it’s all about the heat
DB makes a good point about if it’s worth arguing over, I’ll go a step further and say that “fridge placement” is something you have to give the wife the final say on
[quote=“Dragonbones”]It seems to me that a fridge will have to work harder to keep the temperature cold if it’s in a hot environment or if the strong sun is warming its exterior. If the fridge is not in great shape to begin with, it may not be able to restore the target temp quite as quickly as it should after the door has been open, which could lead to slightly faster spoilage. If it is in good working order this shouldn’t be a problem, but putting it in the hot sun may lead to higher electricity bills. The UV is completely irrelevant.
[color=#FF0000]However, keeping one’s wife happy is more important than being right.[/color] [/quote]
That’s kind of what I was thinking.
With certain appliances, like TVs and DVD players, this is true… they consume a certain amount of current to keep the clock and standby mode in operation. But it’s not true for, say, a blender.
? We argued bitterly this morning, but i’m willing to be very humble if she is right. I have found this re energy usage, which I do understand:
? I’ve googled and I can’t find that.
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