Introduction: LED Refrigerator Light

By www.mit.edu/people/robot
About: Tim Anderson is the author of the "Heirloom Technology" column in Make Magazine. He is co-founder of www.zcorp.com, manufacturers of "3D Printer" output devices. His detailed drawings of traditional Pacific I…
Why is there a 60 watt heater inside my refrigerator? An incandescent lightbulb is a heater, and I don't want it in my refrigerator wasting energy, even if it only does it when the door is open.

For that matter why is the door on the side instead of the top so all the cold air runs out whenever the door is opened?

How can you find out if the light turns off when you close the door or not?
Arthur Schwieger of St.Cloud MN figured out this nifty way to do it:



Step 1: Replace the Incandescent Bulb With an LED Bulb

Good LEDs aren't any better than fluorescents in efficiency, but they deal with temperature swings better.
Also they don't have mercury in them.

A final advantage is the festive colored light show to be had from this Color Kinetics unit.
http://colorkinetics.com
It's the "Lighttro" model available online for $20. There's a button on the side to change what pattern of colors it plays. Hey vendor- gimme free ones or I'll prostitute myself to your competition !! :)

Here's the fridge after and before changing the bulb. Actually it looks nothing like these pictures thanks to an automatic camera. But I'm happy cuz the bulb burns 2 watts versus 60 watts.
The fridge isn't as brightly lit as before, but that doesn't matter. The only reason for a fridge light is to remind you that your fridge is still working anyway.