Can you cool the air in your house by leaving the refrigerator door open?

A) Yes

B) No

Answer: B. There may be a brief moment where the cool air and food inside the refrigerator cools the air in the house, but the refrigerator must eventually begin working. A refrigerator transfers heat from the inside to the outside by doing work. The first law of thermodynamics for the refrigerator can be written as follows:

|Q_c| + |W| = |Q_h|

Since there is now no distinction between inside and outside the refrigerator and |Q_h| > |Q_c|, the refrigerator is effectively a space heater.