Keeping fridge going in winters is a bit absurd, at least for me. All my stuff is outside anyway so why waste energy? Ben Hewitt completely agrees and his DIY refrigerator is all about harnessing natural coolness to preserve stuff.
The whole point behind this hack is to build a large insulated box and fit it in an area that connects to the outside of the house. Then the box harnesses the low temperatures outside and no electricity gets wasted. For the author of this hack, the AAF (Ambient Air Fridge) has been easy to install. In his home the hack fits nicely against the outside of a doorway that leads to a seasonal porch of his kitchen. Ideally we should be looking at a similar scenario.
Here’s a bunch of stuff that you need for DIY refrigerator:
• Stack of 2×4’s,
• 4 sheets of 2-inch foamular “pink board,”
• 4 sheets 1/2-inch CDX plywood,
• enough cedar tongue-in-groove paneling to cover the inside of your framed walls,
• 2 small 24v computer fans,
• 1-3/4-inch hole
• Saw, nails and general carpentry tools.
Determine an adequate size for you fridge and build up an airtight box, insulate it with pinkboard. Then frame walls with the 2X4’s and drill 1-3/4” holes in the box, one on each side. One of these holes should be drilled at the bottom and the other at the top. Next comes fitting small fans into the holes and connecting them to a thermostat. The box now complete should be attached to it to the exterior of your opening with 3-1/2″ galvanized screws.
You can read the procedure in detail here. Ben Hewitt has been using this hack for over three years now. Needless to say the fridge is effective only in cold months. However that ought to save enough energy to crank up the temperature in you house without any additional bills to pay.
