Buying a new appliance can feel daunting. Before you hand over your hard-earned money, here’s how to choose an appliance that will help you save money over time.
Before you start shopping, keep in mind that not all new appliances are high efficiency and not all old appliances are inefficient. The yellow EnergyGuide label on new appliances shows the yearly energy cost, kilowatt-hour electricity use, and Energy Star logo, if certified.
Let’s look at some examples to see how the costs and savings stack up.
On a visit to my mom’s house, she proudly showed off her 1980s refrigerator she bought when her 1970s model died. If her 1980s fridge uses 2,000 kilowatt-hours per year, at 15 cents per kWh, it costs $300 per year to operate. But refrigerators have seen major efficiency improvements over the years. If Mom buys a new Energy Star-certified refrigerator for $1,000 that uses 500 kWh per year, equaling a $75 yearly energy cost. By cutting annual energy costs by about $225, the new refrigerator would pay for itself in roughly four and a half years.
Other appliances have seen improved efficiency since the 1980s. I recently bought a new washing machine when my old front-load machine died. I was considering a top-load machine. When I compared Energy Star-certified top loaders to front loaders, I changed my mind. Energy Star-certified front loaders use about 50% less energy and water than top-load agitator washers and about 25% less energy and water than top-load impeller washers that don’t have an agitator.
My new washer cost $698. According to the appliance’s EnergyGuide label, based on six loads of laundry per week and an electricity cost of 15 cents per kWh, the yearly energy cost is $15. Similar non-Energy Star-certified models’ energy costs were $48 per year.
I also had to make the decision about buying the matching dryer. My dryer was functional but had features I didn’t like. At 15 cents per kWh and running roughly six loads per week for an hour each, my old dryer cost just over $130 per year to use.
The new matching Energy Star-certified dryer cost $698 and estimated annual energy use at 607 kWh, which is $91.05 per year at 15 cents per kWh. With an estimated savings of $39 per year, the new dryer would take almost 18 years for the energy savings alone to offset the purchase price. That’s a long time.
Whichever appliance you are upgrading or replacing, make an informed decision by comparing the cost of operation and shopping Energy Star-certified models to help lower your electric bill.
Miranda Boutelle is the chief operating officer at Efficiency Services Group in Oregon, a cooperatively owned energy efficiency company. She has more than 20 years of experience helping people save energy at home.
