Have an Energy Star rated LG refrigerator? You might have a little extra cash coming your way from LG — because your fridge hasn’t been giving you the energy savings it promised.

That’s right — A bunch of LG refrigerator models have been stripped of their Energy Star rating, thanks to a study by Consumer Reports. When conducting its own energy evaluations, Consumer Reports noticed that some LG models sucked up a lot more energy than promised.

The reason? When awarding Energy Star ratings, the Department of Energy turned off the fridges’ ice makers — something actual fridge-buyers are unlikely to do since turning off the ice maker also turns off cooling to the ice compartment.

It’s unclear whether LG intentionally tried to rig the Department of Energy’s measurements. ApplianceAdvisor.com alleges that LG “programmed its refrigerator controllers to be able to identify DOE test conditions so that certain electrical functions are shut down when those conditions are met” — but provides no proof for that allegation. The Department of Energy, for its part, says it “does not dispute that LG’s interpretation of the governing aspect of the test procedure in question was made in good faith.”

You can read the 8-page signed settlement between the Department of Energy and LG here (PDF). In any case — If you bought one of the fridges in question, you’re entitled to compensation!

To figure out if your fridge is affected, check this page to see if your fridge is one of them. If it is, you can get your fridge fixed up AND get some money from LG!

Just register your fridge, and LG will send out a technician to replace your fridge’s circuit board, which’ll save you energy. Plus, LG will give you a one-time payment to compensate for past energy use AND payments to compensate for future energy use. According to Consumer Reports, the compensation comes out to about $41 for past use, plus about $7 each year for future use for the fridge’s expected 14-year lifespan.

Image of LG fridge via lgrefrigeratoroffer.com

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