C & E writes:

I just saw an Energy Star commercial which stated that a 'fridge built
ten years ago uses twice as much electricity as a new one.

This same bunk has been spouted for decades, ever since the energy crisis
of the 1970s. There was some basis to it then, but major efficiency
improvements have all been exploited for quite a while now. Efficiency in
fact went way *backwards* with the switch in non-CFC refrigerants in the
1990s to today.

The biggest power hog in a refrigerator is making ICE. Turn off your
icemaker and remove any loose ice (which sublimates and costs energy) and
watch how much less your unit runs. As long as you have open liquid water
in the freezer it will never shut off.