would an freezer filled with only 1 kg of already frozen goods consume less energy than a freezer filled with 100 kg of already frozen goods, assuming the freezer is set to the same temperature and that you want to keep items frozen indefinitely?
someone told me the first scenario takes up more energy but i’m skeptical…
could the energy consumption rate be the same?
is there some sort of thermal ineria that is present with the larger mass of food that would require less energy from the freezer?
After the food is frozen the only energy required is to offset the heat gain into the freezer. That’s not a function of the contents.
On the other hand, if someone opens the freezer door, there is more heat gained by the freezer that is less full. This is because there is more cold air exchanged with the room air. In that case, the less full freezer will use more energy.
The simple answer is yes. However, this isn’t the place for simple answers. To get to that conclusion, you have to assume the quality of the construction is good, so there’s no air leakage. You also have to assume the other materials of construction, the interior and exterior shell and any air gaps, are not a factor. (They are, but you can assume they’re the same for all examples). The other major factor in figuring the heat gain, is the temperature differential between the inside of the freezer and the environment that it’s sitting in. Again, if you assume this doesn’t change from one example to the next, then yes, the insulation “R value” determines the heat gain.