People looking to cut down on costs and energy use in the kitchen should look first and foremost at their refrigerator, it has been claimed.The Times Online identified the refrigerator as a key appliance for replacement when people undertook kitchen improvements, with the fridges 24/7 energy usage making it imperative to ensure that it as efficient as possible.The paper claimed that electricity consumption monitors were a useful means of measuring fridge efficiency, and often revealed large energy wastage in old and outdated fridges and freezers.Refrigeration shocked him most. His 20-year-old garage freezer was using an average of 164 watts over 24 hours, at an annual cost of 158. The fridge and freezer he bought as replacements use 32 watts a day, at an annual cost of 32. Older fridges often use around 500 kWh of power per annum - equating to a high cost over the year while the most efficient new models were said to use as little as 260 kWh per annum, meaning that large savings were to be made.Kitchen sinks, refrigerators and ovens are often considered the most important items in any kitchen, with kitchen design seeking to create the most usable spaces around these appliances.