Even if your house already has appliances, they will cost you more to operate then new ones if they are more than 10 years old. If all your appliances are older, make a 1-2 year plan to replace them with newer, energy efficient models. Depending on the appliance, its efficiency may have increased by 25-50% since the early 1990s.
Of the large appliances, refrigerators are the biggest energy users. New models are nearly 150% more efficient than those made in 1980. Upgrading to a newer unit will pay off in energy savings.
- Clothes dryers that include moisture sensors will shut off the dryer when the clothes are dry, and not continue to run until a timer shuts off.
- The average American family washes almost 300 loads of laundry each year. You can cut your related energy and water costs just by purchasing a clothes washer that's earned the ENERGY STAR. Clothes washers that have earned the ENERGY STAR have a greater tub capacity which means you can wash fewer loads to clean the same amount of laundry.
- Most of the energy consumed by a dishwasher is used to heat the water needed for washing. Today’s models use 4-6 gallons per load, as opposed to those made 10 years ago, when over 14 gallons were needed per load.
- Look for the blue ENERGY STAR label when shopping for new appliances. They exceed federal efficiency standards.
- One final thing to remember about appliances—the more efficient an appliance is, the less you will pay to run it. And using less energy is beneficial to the environment be reducing air pollution.