Keeping a second fridge at home? You're not alone

Americans are buying more efficient refrigerators, especially as new federal rebates encourage Energy Star purchases. Still, many aren't saving energy, because they're keeping their old units as backups, says a new report.

"The number of U.S. households with two or more refrigerators has increased, and the secondary refrigerators are typically older and less efficient than the primary models," says the Energy Vision Update 2010 report by the World Economic Forum, according to The New York Times.

One-fourth, or 26%, of U.S. households have a second refrigerator, and that share is steadily increasing, says a second study by the Department of Energy, released  in December. 

About 10% of households that buy new refrigerators keep their old ones, and another 32% sell or donate the old units, leaving nearly half of the inefficient fridges still on the grid, the report says.

This worries energy efficiency experts as more states roll out the federal "cash for appliances" program that offers rebates for Energy Star appliances. Many states do not require that old units be recycled.

"We have a concern about refrigerators," says Kateri Callahan, president of the non-profit Alliance to Save Energy, tells Green House, noting how many old units are not disposed of and thus increase overall energy use.

By unplugging a secondary refrigerators, a household could save up to $750 in energy costs, the DOE report says. If all 30 million such units were unplugged, it says the United States would save 25 million megawatt hours of electricity, or about $2.8 billion.

Readers: Do you have a second fridge at home?