Appliances
Appliances account for about 20% of your household's energy
consumption, with refrigerators and clothes dryers at the
top of the consumption list.
When you're shopping for appliances, you can think of two
price tags. The first one covers the purchase price—think
of it as a down payment. The second price tag is the cost
of operating the appliance during its lifetime. You'll be
paying on that second price tag every month with your utility
bill for the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the appliance.
Refrigerators last an average of 20 years; room air conditioners
and dishwashers, about 10 years each; clothes washers, about
14 years.
What's the Real Cost?
Every appliance has two price tags — a purchase price
and the operating cost.
When you do have to shop for a new appliance, look for
the ENERGY STAR® label. ENERGY STAR® appliances
have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and DOE as being the most energy-efficient products
in their classes. They usually exceed minimum federal standards
by a substantial amount. The appliance shopping guide lists
some of the major appliances that carry the ENERGY STAR®
label and provides helpful information on what to look for
when shopping for an appliance.
To help you figure out whether an appliance is energy efficient,
the federal government requires most appliances to display
the bright yellow and black EnergyGuide label. Although
these labels will not tell you which appliance is the most
efficient, they will tell you the annual energy consumption
and operating cost for each appliance so you can compare
them yourself.
How Much Electricity Do Appliances Use?
This chart shows how much energy a typical appliance uses
per year and its corresponding cost based on national averages.
For example, a refrigerator uses almost five times the electricity
the average television uses.
Dishwashers
Most of the energy used by a dishwasher is for water heating.
The EnergyGuide label estimates how much power is needed
per year to run the appliance and to heat the water based
on the yearly cost of gas and electric water heating. When
it is time to buy a new unit, look for the ENERGY STAR®
label.
Refrigerators
Refrigerator Choices
Refrigerators with the freezer on top are more efficient
than those with freezers on the side.
The EnergyGuide label on new refrigerators will tell you
how much electricity in kilowatt-hours (kWh) a particular
model uses in one year. The smaller the number, the less
energy the refrigerator uses and the less it will cost you
to operate. In addition to the EnergyGuide label, don't
forget to look for the ENERGY STAR® label. A new refrigerator
with an ENERGY STAR® label will save you between $35
and $70 a year compared to the models designed 15 years
ago. This adds up to between $525 and $1,050 during the
average 15-year life of the unit.
Other Energy-Saving Kitchen Tips
Laundry
About 80% to 85% of the energy used for washing clothes
is for heating the water. There are two ways to reduce the
amount of energy used for washing clothes—use less
water and use cooler water. Unless you're dealing with oily
stains, the warm or cold water setting on your machine will
generally do a good job of cleaning your clothes. Switching
your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut a load's
energy use in half.
When shopping for a new washer, look for an ENERGY STAR®
machine. These machines may cost more to buy but uses about
a third of the energy and less water than typical machines.
You'll also save more on clothes drying, because most remove
more water from your clothes during the spin cycle. Look
for the ENERGY STAR® label (How to Read the EnergyGuide
Label).
When shopping for a new clothes dryer, look for one with
a moisture sensor that automatically shuts off the machine
when your clothes are dry. Not only will this save energy,
it will save wear and tear on your clothes caused by over-drying.
Keep in mind that gas dryers are less expensive to operate
than electric dryers. The cost of drying a typical load
of laundry in an electric dryer is 30 to 40 cents compared
to 15 to 25 cents in a gas dryer.
See the contact list for places to get more information
on energy-efficient appliances.
