Cost of storing stuff on top of the refrigerator?

[scdr]

The silent refrigerator thread brought to mind something I have wondered about.

Refrigerators need space around them for air circulation to cool the
condensing coils (usually on the back of the refrigerator).
Kitchens are often built with cabinets above the refrigerator space - but
with an air gap so that heated air can still escape.

However, frequently I see people storing things on top of the refrigerator
(using the space in front of the cabinet as a shelf).
For instance, I notice that the pots that my father has on top of the
refrigerator are warm to the touch (warmer than the top surface of
the refrigerator).


So I wondered how much does it cost to store things on top of the refrigerator?

The manuals etc. say you are supposed to leave an air gap - but people
don't pay much attention. If there is a significant effect then, linking it to people's pocket book (and/or the environment) will probably be more effective than just saying don't do this.

So far I haven't found answers by web searching, anybody seen this, or suggest a better forum to ask in?

Shouldn't be too hard for somebody with a Kill-A-Watt type meter and
an appropriate refrigerator surroundings to try it out - keep consistent ambient temperature, about same stuff in the fridge, minimize openings, see how much juice it takes with and without stuff on top (allowing time for temperatures to settle before measuring). I would do the experiment
myself if I knew where I could borrow a Kill-A-Watt (seems kind of anti-environmental for me to buy something like that which will spend most of its time in a drawer.

Thanks

[Davinator]

I once pulled my fridge out to get at something that fell down back there, was bothered by how dust-laden the coils had gotten. After pulling the fridge out further, I vacuumed them. Through the next few days I noticed things were freezing inside, so after a couple years of turning up the adjustment knob I had to crank it down from 8 to 4 since the efficiency went back up with clean coils.

Dust on the coils could be just as costly as that extra shelf!

[floffe]

My fridge has a cupboard on top! There's a 7cm or so gap with a grille in between though

[maria_]

I have a microwave on top of the fridge which effectively covers 90% of the surface area. Microwave sits on top of the insulation foam, meaning that top of the fridge has no contact with air.

With or without any air circulation around the fridge, the top is never warm. With full insulation around the fridge (no air from any sides except a 3 cms hole on top), the bottom left and right sides of the fridge gets slightly warm. It is not any warmer than when the fridge had full circulation.

So far, i haven't experienced any warmup issues at any place even at the back where the radiator is covered. There is a 5 cms gap between the back of the fridge and the wall (it is covered from all sides for the sound not to escape though).

Please take into consideration that ambient is temp controlled at 23C at all times.