Take a tour of Unusual Facts About Refrigerators in Miami, United States - part of the World's Greatest Attractions travel video series by GeoBeats. The refrigerator has been an important part of the American household ever since it was first invented in the 1910s. But however much you may love your refrigerator, if you live in Pennsylvania, it is illegal to sleep outdoors on top of one. Counter-intuitively, the more items that you have in your refrigerator, the more efficient it is. The refrigerators of the United States use as much electricity as about two dozen power plants. Keeping the freezer constantly below zero degrees can go a long ways toward preventing freezer burn on the food within.