ENERGY STAR: EVEN BETTER

Want to do something for the household and the environment by way of gifting this holiday season? Maybe upgrading to an Energy Star appliance would be just the thing. Just remember to recycle the old appliances. (Via a quick Google search. Or click here.)

Energy Star Appliances Save More Than the Label Suggests
Katherine Salant, November 17, 2007 (Washington Post)

WHO
Anybody who has an old refrigerator, clothes washer, dish washer or is still washing dishes by hand.

The Energy Star label and some tips on how to read it. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
The big yellow Energy Star labels on appliances promise efficiency and savings but UNDER estimate the energy savings most consumers gain when they trade in older appliances for newer, more efficient ones. A new model is likely to cut the utility bill enough to pay for itself in just a few years.

WHEN
The label promises a 2007 Energy Star refrigerator will use 15% less power than a standard model. A 2007 Energy Star 18-cubic foot model saves 30% on the power consumption of a 14-year old 1993 model, 54% less than a 1989 model and 81% less than the a not uncommon 1975 model.

WHERE
- In areas where drought is a consideration, using a dishwasher is a huge benefit.
- Older front-loading clothes washers were significantly more efficient than old style top-loaders.

WHY
- Most appliances last a long time. The average refrigerator is 14 years old.
- Dishwashers save because handwashing uses 27 gallons of water while the appliance uses 5 gallons. Dishwashers cut power use 37% from handwashing.
- A new dishwasher cuts water use 33% over a 12-year-old model and reduces energy consumption 29%.
- Newer clothes washers come in energy and water efficient front- and top-loading models. Old top-loaders used the least efficient central agitator while new top-loaders use a wash plate and front-loaders still tumble the clothing in a turning basket.
- A 2007 Energy Star conventional top-loading clothes washer is 40% more efficient and uses 25% less water than a 1995 model. The 2007 Energy star wash-plate top-loader is 60% more efficient and uses 30% less water. The front-loader is 75% more efficient and uses 60% les water.
- Newer clothes washers have race car-high spin speeds.

Front-loaders are the way to go these days.

QUOTES
Salant, Washington Post: “Trading in your old beauty for a new Energy Star model would make such a dent in your utility bill that the new one could pay for itself in one or two years. When I replaced my 24-year-old side-by-side refrigerator three years ago, my monthly electric bill went down by $100.”