Save energy with energy efficient appliances

As long as you’ve got appliances in your home you’re eventually gonna be faced with a choice. Something brakes… now what? In general, if you can get it fixed, keeping your refrigerator or washing machine out of the landfill for another couple of years might be the wiser environmental choice even if the appliance is not the most energy efficient model. But, from a price perspective, here is a good rule: If the price to repair a household appliance is more than the half the price of a new product, you’re better of buying a new one because advances in energy efficiency mean the newer machines will generally save you more money in the long run.

Let’s start with the refrigerator. If you need to make repairs on an older fridge it’s probably worth getting a new one instead. New refrigerators consume up to 75 percent less energy than those made before 2001. When you buy a new fridge opt for a top freezer model rather than a side by side and make sure it’s energy star certified. A new refrigerator should than last you 14 years.

Replacing older dish washers is also a good idea. Newer models use less hot water, have energy efficient motors and use sensors to determine the length of the wash cycle making energy star models 25 percent more efficient than the minimum federal standards. Now, when you shop for a new dish washer choose one with a light wash or energy saving cycle and expect to hang on to it for about 9 years.

Here is something you might not know. It’s not a good idea to hand wash your dishes as an alternative to running the dish washer because you’ll generally use more hot water in the sink.

When the dryer breaks fixing is probably better than ditching. A dryers average life cycle is about 13 years and as long as it have a moister sensor (most of them do) it functions at about the same efficiency as current models. When it’s time to buy a new drier look for one with the sensor in the drum. It’ll shut off a little sooner and save you slightly more energy. However, since dryers consume large amounts of energy line drying or hanging your cloths on a rack is really the greenest option.

If there is any question about whether the ditch will fix your washing machine consider replacement first. Especially if you’ve got a top loading washer. Top loaders use a lot more water than new front loading machines. Look for one with the energy star label on front. Might cost a little more but this models circulate clots in a shallower pool of water, use less water and heat and save you money in the long run.

And now to the hot water heater. If your unit’s electric you can probably cut down on energy use by about 40 to 50 percent just by switching to a high efficiency gas model. Now, if you’ve already got a gas system your not in the clear just yet. It all depend how old it is because older gas systems may also need to be replaced because although they last about 25 years they get a lot less energy efficient as time wares on. So, if your gas hot water heater is more than 10 years old it probably deserves to be ditched. What you want to do is look for a demand or tank less system meaning that the water that’s circulated is going through a large coil and heated only when needed. Although energy star doesn’t certify this models, the government estimates they use up to 60 percent less energy when you compare them to the standard minimum efficiency heaters. And all of that, is going to save you some money. Up to abut 1,800 dollars a year.

You’ve seen what running your air conditioner can do to your electric bill so you know it’s using a lot of energy in the summer. When the air conditioning fails, if the appliance is older than 10 years, ditch before you fix and that goes for both, window units and central air conditioners.

Remember that when you’re getting rid of your appliances you really need to know what your community requires for their disposal. Because of the coolants used, old window air conditioners need to be disposed of in hazardous waste facilities. Old central air compressors are usually disposed by the contractor hired to install the new one but that’s something you can always ask about ahead of time.