Lol, yeah. Though the exhaust heat from the refrigerator does warm the house (good in winter, not good in the summer).

Definitely have had the thought about a thermostat controlled vent that would utilize outdoor air when the temperature permits. Might be one of those ideas that’s nice but impractical.

Yep. And with the ice keeping it cool, the compressor would run less and thus less waste heat (which is useful in the winter). Not sure how much that adds to the overall heat in the house, but it definitely contributes.

Ah yeah, $30/yr doesn’t seem like a lot from a strictly money-saving perspective. I guess if electricity here was more expensive (it’s getting there lol) or if I was on a tighter power budget (e.g. offgrid PV + battery), it might be worth it. Maybe I’ll just save that trick for when the power’s out.

Nice. Mine is, too, for the most part.

The only part of mine that I bought new was the 32" PC monitor that acts as the “TV”. It’s a lot more energy efficient (17 watts) than the 32" LCD (120 watts) that I reclaimed from the side of the road. It’s downstairs now with all my retro consoles hooked to it.

Good point. Honestly not sure, and probably have no way to tell, how many might have been fine before they were set out. I just know that by the time I come across them, most have seen better days.

The inverter has definitely come in handy. Testing roadside appliances wasn’t its original purpose, lol, but it definitely does a good job of it. I usually just check if they power up and, in the case of TVs/monitors, that the screen isn’t cracked or horribly glitching. If it gets that far, I’ll load it up and take my chances with it.

(Luckily?) most of the ones I see out on the curb are usually physically broken (usually the panel is smashed). I have an inverter in my car and will just plug them in right there to test them out, lol. I think I’ve only successfully rescued one good one recently.

I wouldn’t say it’s a valid reason to throw them out, but the 32" LCD TV I found and brought home was pretty energy inefficient (110 watts) compared to the 32" LCD I got a couple years ago (17 watts). It’s an older model Samsung and has all the input type you could ever want, so I set it up in my basement with all my retro game systems hooked to it.

I’ve tried so hard to go plastic free but absolutely fricking can’t; it’s everywhere and in everything. Even minimizing it continues to be a challenge. I refuse to give up, but I’ve had to lower my expectations considerably.

Like Transporter Room 3 said: our individual plastic usage is probably not even a drop in the bucket compared to the waste generated by industry. :sigh: