 Solution

Cold air is denser than room air at approximately the same pressure. The ideal gas law gives a fractional mass density contrast of order $\Delta \rho /\rho \sim \Delta T/T$. The initial outflow is therefore a gravity current driven by reduced gravityFor an illustrative refrigerator height $H\sim 1\mathrm{m}$, room temperature $T\sim 295\mathrm{K}$ and temperature difference $\Delta T\sim 20\mathrm{K}$, this gives $g^{\prime }\sim 0.66\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$. Balancing the released potential energy with kinetic energy gives $U\sim \sqrt{g^{\prime }H}\sim 0.8\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. The buoyancy exchange time of a cold-air enclosure is consequentlyUsing constant acceleration over height $H$ gives $\sqrt{2H/g^{\prime }}\sim 1.7\mathrm{s}$, consistent at this level. Warm air enters as cold air leaves, so unrestricted vacuum free fall is not the right acceleration model. No dimensions or temperatures are specified in the source, so an order-of-magnitude estimate with explicit representative values is the appropriate result; shelves and mixing can delay complete replacement.