When purchasing home appliances.
Energy efficiency is a key factor when purchasing home appliances, but the energy efficiency of similar appliances can vary significantly. It is usually more cost-effective to purchase household appliances with high efficiencies.
Comparing the energy and determining efficiency of different models is usually easy, because federal regulations require many types of home appliances to display EnergyGuide labels.
A label or energy-use information in the product literature is required for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, freezers, water heaters, washing machines, dishwashers, room and central air conditioners, and heat pumps.
EnergyGuide labels indicate either the annual estimated cost of operating the system or a standardized energy efficiency ratio.
Home Appliance Shopping Tips
- Dishwashers:
When choosing a dishwasher, you should find out how many liters of water it uses during different cycles. Look for features that reduce water use.
Newer, more expensive stainless steel models enhance efficiency during drying cycles and can tolerate higher water temperatures, even allowing you to sanitize your dishes.
- Ovens:
When shopping for an oven, your first decision should be whether you want a gas oven or an electric. An important factor to consider when buying an oven is the type of cleaning process it uses.
Self-cleaning ovens often have programmable cleaning settings that use high temperatures to clean residue from the oven.
- Cooktops:
Cook tops that are electric can pose a problem for those that are looking to save energy. These pull quite a bit of electricity to be used effectively. To help to keep this to a minimum, make sure that you select the right size burner for the pot that you are using.
Another trick with these units is to insure that the bottom of your pan is flat. Those that are rounded have less surface area actually touching the cook top, causing it to take longer to heat and therefore requiring more energy use for the same meal.
- Washing Machines:
Washers with water level controls, large capacity settings and spin cycle adjustment will help you curb your water use. In addition, front-loading models use about one-third less energy and water than top loading machines.
- Refrigerators:
As a rule of thumb, plan on purchasing 250 liters of space for a family of two, then add an additional 40 litres of space for each family member. Refrigerators with freezers on the top are more energy efficient than models with side freezers.
- Garbage disposals:
When shopping for a garbage disposal, there are several things to consider in order to arrive at the best disposal to fit your needs. You also must know if you are hooked up to a septic system or regular water system.
- Range hood (cooktop ventilation hoods):
The most important thing to consider when purchasing a new ventilation hood is its fan. In a centrifugal fan, the air makes a 90-degree turn after it enters the fan wheel. You should also consider buying one with a low sone number. A sone measures the amount of noise created by an air-moving appliance.
- Hot water heaters:
Look for hot water heaters that are energy efficient. Energy efficient appliances can cost more, but will save money and protect the environment over time.
Tank size or capacity refers to the amount of water, in liters, that the water heater will hold. Large capacity water heaters are also more expensive to operate because they require more energy to heat the large amount of water.
Tankless water heating systems do not store heated water; instead, the water is heated instantly on demand. Tankless water heaters are more energy efficient than conventional types, but have trouble supplying large amounts of hot water at any one time.
- Room air conditioners:
When looking for a powerful air conditioner, check out the yellow energy tag (represented as Energy Efficiency Ratio or EER) and consider its efficiency. The EER numbers range from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 6. You’ll want to look for high EER numbers.
Before you go shopping for an electric appliance, ask yourself a few key questions to find the right one for you, or just click here to go to our Blog section, and I am sure you will find the information you are looking for to help you make the correct decision.
