Buying fresh vs. freezing

I’ve never been a member of Costco – I’ve lived in smaller apartments since going to college and lived alone for many of those years and have never had the space or need to buy in bulk.

Additionally, I’ve wondered about the cost-effectiveness of buying such mass quantities (at a discount) and then paying for the local storage (in one’s home).  In essence, by buying in smaller quantities, I’m passing on the cost of storage back to the retailers.

In addition to the physical space required to store this stuff, there’s also costs for things like extra large or additional fridges/freezers.  I found this post from Get Rich Slowly to be pretty interesting in two ways:  First, the breakdown of the cost of operating an additional freezer.  Granted, I believe his math is a little flawed (it doesn’t take into account differences when the unit is opened more or less during a period of time nor does it look at seasonal temperature differences (though he live in Portland so these are probably less extreme than in other parts of the country).  A better test would be to monitor the device over a longer period of time.  I was surprised by the overall estimated cost of running the freezer – not that expensive really.  (I won’t get into other considerations when buying in bulk, storage, the quality of frozen vs. fresh or the cost implications of a long-term power outage…)

The operating cost is an interesting piece of data.  Leading me to the second item I found interesting – the energy measurement device that he has – the Kill-a-watt meter.  This is such a great idea.  You plug in your electronic devices and the unit measures the electrical draw.  I’m really intrigued by this and am considering buying one – I tend to be a little geeky that way.

To me (and it’s not just me, I’ve read plenty of others who are saying the same thing) one of the biggest problems we have today with energy conservation is a lack of measurement tools.  Time and again, reading reports of the hybrid electric vehicles you see the authors talking about their energy use.  Yes, this is key to a hybrid car – but it’s also an indication of how easy it is to report on that statistic – these cars make it incredibly easy to see what your consumption is.

It would be really interesting to see what would happen if all of our devices were telling us how much energy they were consuming on a daily basis.  I for one am OK with energy conservation – I unplug some devices when they’re not in use, but even with my $35 monthly utility bill, I know I could shave off more – I wonder how much.

4 Replies to “Buying fresh vs. freezing”

  1. If you take it to the next level, then you need to know the sunk energy costs of creating, packaging, transporting, storing, and selling the item in question as well. And of course the ultimate cost of disposing of it when you're done. This is why I think hybrid cars are a bit of a greenwashing effort. I think the batteries have a lot more sunk energy cost on the manufacture and disposal ends than people realize.

    BTW, if you want to green your home, you should talk to Lisa. She worked on a project helping folks in Palo Alto do exactly this. High on the list, by the way, is eat less meat. 🙂

  2. Yes – all good points.

    It will be interesting to see if we get to a point where we can understand the true cost of everything in our lives. I wonder how much people would change if information was more readily available.

    Of course packaging and transport can be an argument for buying in bulk (as opposed to buying smaller packages at the market) – This obviously doesn't hold up as well to more sustainably produced and procured goods.

    I would argue that Hybrids can still be considered an overall positive if you consider the R&D benefits. It's pretty clear that whatever solution we have in the future is going to have some kind of energy-storing needs and that research has to come from somewhere.

  3. We have a kill-a-watt, it's been interesting. Especially surprising is the phantom power created by devices not even turned on.

    Now we unplug nearly everything. Of course, my memory is terrible and i always freak out thinking my printer or stove are broken….

    Costco always seems to cost me more money than it should. But the rotisserie chickens are delicious and gluten free.

  4. We have a kill-a-watt, it's been interesting. Especially surprising is the phantom power created by devices not even turned on.

    Now we unplug nearly everything. Of course, my memory is terrible and i always freak out thinking my printer or stove are broken….

    Costco always seems to cost me more money than it should. But the rotisserie chickens are delicious and gluten free.

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