Acknowledgements:

Images not taken at Mary's house were obtained as royalty free thumbnails from www.gettyimages.com.

Thanks go out to:

• Our team mate, Mary Rasure, for the use of her Refrigerator during the experiment.
• Sara Goenner, Alison Kwok, and Rachel Rush (her mother actually fills her refrigerator with jugs of water!) for guidance in developing this case study.

Special thanks to employees of The Hearth Cafe and The Buzz Coffeehouse for saving all of those empty milk jugs we used to fill the refrigerator.

WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

Some other useful links and information regarding appliance efficiency:

Read an excerpt from Michael Potts' book, The New Independent Home, chapter 2: "The Outrageous Cost of Refrigeration." This is a great link if you are about to purchase a refrigerator, or feel you are up to taking "The Great American Refrigerator Challenge."

Take some energy efficiency tips regarding refrigerator use, courtesy of Hydro One, Ontario, Canada's electricity provider. http://www.hydroonenetworks.com/en/efficiency/appliances/using_appliances/

Check out this page if you would like some more tips about energy conservation in refrigerator selection, use, and maintenance. This one is brought to you by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. http://www.dnrec.state.de.us/p2d.htm

WelcomeWagon.com has some more great tips. Try the test to see if the seals around your refrigerator need repair. We tried this test on Mary's refrigerator, and it didn't fare very well! http://www.welcomewagon.com/homeowners/house-pages/electric-bills.html

Thanks for visiting our Vital Signs Case Study site. We wish you the best of luck in all of your refrigeration endeavors.