This information is from The US Department of Energy. Find this article and many other online at The DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website.
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.
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.
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