A kitchen is one of the commonly used and frequented rooms in a home.
The activities carried out in a kitchen mainly involve heat emission, making the kitchen hot.
Most people will continue bearing the hot kitchen conditions while cooking until they finish, while others will seek means of cooling the kitchen.
While it is important to cool a hot kitchen, choosing the right cooling method is essential.
So, Can You Cool Down The Kitchen By Leaving The Door Of The Refrigerator Open?
No! You cannot cool a hot kitchen or room with an open refrigerator. Even though a refrigerator is used to cool drinks and preserve other items like food and medicine, it does not mean it emits cold air capable of cooling a home. The cooling effect of a refrigerator is only effective within the fridge, especially when the door is locked.
See Also: Why Does Your Fridge Smell Like Rotten Eggs or Fish?
There are other better and more effective methods of cooling a kitchen, and some will be covered in this post.
It is essential to understand why an open refrigerator can’t cool a room or a kitchen in this matter.
Keep reading for more tips to cool a kitchen without overworking a fridge.
Why Can’t An Open Refrigerator Cool A Kitchen?
As said earlier, it is not possible to cool a kitchen by leaving a refrigerator door open, and here is why.
Basically, a refrigerator functions as a heat pump—it mechanically moves heat from the interior parts of a refrigerator and pumps the warm air to the surrounding space.
This mechanical process occurs at the heat transfer coils at the back of the fridge.
The coil’s position is strategic, efficiently uses the room temperature air, and helps draw enough heat out of the refrigerating substance within the coils.
Since the whole process is inherently inefficient, any extra work applied in the system increases the heat released by the coils as it will be overworking.
That excess warm air released is consequently dumped in the surroundings leaving the room warmer.
When you open a refrigerator, the cold air inside flows out to mix with the room air, and the temperature drops for some time.
However, when the coils sense warm air getting inside the refrigerator, it turns on to cool the inside air.
In the process, the device releases more warm air because of its inefficiency in managing the extra air getting to the fridge.
The cooling effect of the refrigerator gets canceled by the excess warm air, which also increases the indoor temperatures of a room.
Ten Ways To Cool Down A Kitchen
Instead of unknowingly opening a refrigerator to cool your kitchen, .consider any one of the below-listed tips for keeping a kitchen cool, whether in use, after use, or before using it.
Most of them are very practical and cost and energy efficient.
1. Use Low Heat Appliances
Using low-heat appliances in your kitchen will help you reduce heat production.
Appliances like microwaves, electric pressure cookers, air fryers, and conventional stoves are among the many low-heat cookers you can use to prepare meals.
These appliances transmit very little heat while in use and may not raise the temperatures in your room. They also cook within a very short time, reducing the heat entering your kitchen.
2. Have Curtains Or Blinds
Glass windows allow heat to flow from the environment back to the house.
If you have blinds or curtains, they will help block the heat from outside, especially in summer, when the sun is hot.
If your kitchen has curtains and blinds, you will only be responsible for controlling the heat produced within the kitchen and not sourced from outside.
3. Turn Off The Lights
If you can get adequate light from outside, it is better to switch off the kitchen lights and use natural light.
This will help you save energy and lower energy costs and heat production.
Most of the electrical bulbs used for lighting emit a lot of heat, which can be lowered by using natural light while keeping the electric bulbs off until there is no more natural light.
4. Prepare Food Early
Take advantage of the mild temperatures and start preparing food.
You can start cooking early in the morning when the outside temperatures are low, or do it late in the evening. You can freeze the prepared meals to be used later.
When it is your convenient time to feed, you can reheat the already prepared meals in a microwave and save time and heat consumption.
Cooking in the evening also allows you to use the natural light from outside, just before it gets dark.
5. Use Air Conditioners
Make use of your home air conditioner to help cool the kitchen.
Good airflow triggered by your air conditioner can help cool the temperatures when using a stove.
Remember to check on the vents of your stove or range and clean them regularly.
If dirt, grease, or fumes get stuck within the range vents, the airflow may be distracted, and you will see smoke and bad odors from your appliance.
The smoke and fumes contribute significantly to heating a house.
6. Use Table Fans
Even though a good air conditioning system can help cool your kitchen, installing it can be expensive.
For this reason, you can basically opt for a simple table fan.
Place a few iced water bottles just before the fan to help circulate cool air in the kitchen and lower the high temperatures.
You can use the fan near your kitchen’s main heat source for more cooling efficiency.
7. Avoid Using Stoves And Large Ovens
Minimizing the use of stoves and ovens can significantly influence the amount of heat produced in the kitchen.
Instead, you can opt for small cooking appliances that will still make you delicious meals.
For instance, you can use the toaster oven instead of the large wall oven.
Instant pots can also be convenient as they cook very fast, thus producing very little heat in the kitchen.
You can also opt to use the electrical cooking equipment at a lower setting so that they produce minimal heat amounts.
8. Install Exhaust Fans
Installing exhaust fans can help you effectively cool your kitchen in the summer.
They will help get out the trapped air, which is the leading cause of increased heat in your kitchen during the hot summer days.
You can install an exhaust fan to draw out the hot air or use one to bring in cold air. Whichever option you make, they will all contribute to cooling the kitchen.
9. Keep Doors Open
Opening kitchen doors can be a great way to cool and freshen the air in the kitchen.
Open doors regulate the heat inside the kitchen by letting the hot air freely move outside and the cool outside air to flow inside the kitchen.
Additionally, the open door allows you to freely move in and out of the kitchen to cool outside when the heat becomes unbearable, and cooking activities become intense.
10. Have A Summer Kitchen
A summer kitchen can greatly help cool the indoor kitchen.
The summer kitchen is usually situated outside in a shaded region where most of the cooking is done. The outdoor summer kitchen is also ideal for barbecues and intensive cooking.
Conclusion
A kitchen will frequently get hot due to the heat-emitting appliances used inside the kitchen. Though rarely, the outside heat can also contribute to having a warm kitchen.
Whenever the warm air becomes unbearable, it is important to consider getting a cooling mechanism.
Typically, opening a refrigerator will not help cool the kitchen; instead, it will raise the heat levels. Consider any of the above tips to help you cool your kitchen.
