Energy Efficient Appliances

The most important thing to take away from this lesson is..

Appliances account for about 20% of your household’s energy consumption, with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list. You can reduce this to 5% with the tips in this lesson.

appliance graph

Every appliance has TWO price tags, one when you buy it (consider that a down payment, and the other when you use it.

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.

When you’re shopping for appliances, 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 13 years; room air conditioners and clothes washers, about 11 years each; dishwashers about 9 years.

When you do have to shop for a new appliance, look for the ENERGY STAR label. ENERGY STAR products usually exceed minimum federal standards by a substantial amount.

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. The American Council for an Energy- Efficient Economy lists the energy performance of top-rated energysaving appliances on its web site: www.aceee.org.

energy star lable


How to Read the EnergyGuide Label

The Energy Guide label gives you two important pieces of information you can use to compare different brands andmodels when shopping for a new appliances:

  • Estimated energy consumption on a scale showing a range for similar model


  • Estimated yearly operating cost based on the national average cost of electricity.

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 natural gas and electric water heating.

Dishwasher Tips

• Check the manual that came with your dishwasher for the manufacturer’s Recommendations on water temperature; many have internal heating elements that allow you to set the water heater in your home to a lower temperature (120°F).

  • Scrape, don’t rinse, off large food pieces and bones. Soaking or prewashing is generally only recommended in cases of burned-on or dried-on food.
  • Be sure your dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, when you run it.
  • Don’t use the “rinse hold” on your machine for just a few soiled dishes. It uses 3 to 7 gallons of hot water each time you use it.
  • Let your dishes air dry; if you don’t have an automatic air-dry switch, turn off the control knob after the final rinse and prop the door open a little so the dishes will dry faster.

Long-Term Savings Tips

When shopping for a new dishwasher, look for the ENERGY STAR label to find a dishwasher that uses less water and 25% less energy than required by federal standards.

Refrigerators

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 uses at least 15% less energy than required by current federal standards and 40% less energy than the conventional models sold in 2001.

Refrigerator/Freezer Energy Tips

 Look for a refrigerator with automatic moisture control. Models with this feature have been

engineered to prevent moisture accumulation on the cabinet exterior without the addition of a heater. This is not the same thing as an “anti-sweat” heater. Models with an anti-sweat heater will consume 5% to 10% more energy than models without this feature.

refrigerator

Don’t keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Recommended temperatures are 37° to 40°F for the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator and 5°F for the freezer section. If you have a separate freezer for long-term storage, it should be kept at 0°F.

To check refrigerator temperature, place an appliance thermometer in a glass of water in the center of the refrigerator. Read it after 24 hours.

To check the freezer temperature, place a thermometer between frozen packages. Read it after 24 hours.

Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup decreases the energy efficiency of the unit. Don’t allow frost to build up more than one quarter of an inch.

 Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight. Test them by closing the door over a piece of paper or a dollar bill so it is half in and half out of the refrigerator. If you can pull the paper or bill out easily, the latch may need adjustment, the seal may need replacing, or you might consider buying a new unit.

Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.

Long-Term Savings Tip

 Look for the ENERGY STAR when buying a new refrigerator. Select a new refrigerator that is the right size for your household. Top freezer models are more energy efficient than side-by-side models. Features like icemakers and water dispensers, while convenient, will increase energy use.

Other Energy-Saving Kitchen Tips

Be sure to place the faucet lever on the kitchen sink in the cold position when using small amounts of water; placing the lever in the hot position uses energy to heat the water even though it may never reach the faucet.

If you need to purchase a natural gas oven or range, look for one with an automatic, electric ignition system. An electric ignition saves natural gas because a pilot light is not burning continuously.

In natural gas appliances, look for blue flames; yellow flames indicate the gas is burning inefficiently and an adjustment may be needed. Consult the manufacturer or your local utility.

Keep range-top burners and reflectors clean; they will reflect the heat better, and you will save energy.

Use a covered kettle or pan to boil water; it’s faster and it uses less energy.

Match the size of the pan to the heating element.

Use small electric pans or toaster ovens for small meals rather than your large stove or oven. A toaster oven uses a third to half as much energy as a full sized oven.

Use pressure cookers and microwave ovens whenever it is convenient to do so. They will save energy by significantly reducing cooking time.

You can reduce your water heating costs by simply lowering the thermostat setting on your water heater. For each 10ºF reduction in water temperature, you can save between 3%–5% in energy costs.

Although some manufacturers set water heater thermostats at 140ºF, most households usually only require them set at 120ºF. Water heated at 140ºF also poses a safety hazard—scalding. However, if you have a dishwasher without a booster heater, it may require a water temperature within a range of 130ºF to 140ºF for optimum cleaning.


home water heating

Reducing your water temperature to 120ºF also slows mineral buildup and corrosion in your water heater and pipes. This helps your water heater last longer and operate at its maximum efficiency.

Consult your water heater owner's manual for instructions on how to operate the thermostat. You can find a thermostat dial for a gas storage water heater near the bottom of the tank on the gas valve. Electric water heaters, on the other hand, may have thermostats positioned behind screw-on plates or panels. As a safety precaution, shut off the electricity to the water heater before removing/opening the panels. Keep in mind that an electric water heater may have two thermostats—one each for the upper and lower heating elements.

Mark the beginning temperature and the adjusted temperature on the thermostat dial for future reference. After turning it down, check the water temperature with a thermometer at the tap farthest from the water heater. Thermostat dials are often inaccurate. Several adjustments may be necessary before you get the right temperature.

If you plan to be away from home for at least 3 days, turn the thermostat down to the lowest setting or completely turn off the water heater. To turn off an electric water heater, switch off the circuit breaker to it. For a gas water heater, make sure you know how to safely relight the pilot light before turning it off.

Home Office and Home Electronics

save energy

In the U.S., nearly 8.2 million people worked from home in 2008, up from 3.4 million in 1990.In 2020 Only around 7% of U.S. employees regularly worked from home before the COVID-19.

Around two-thirds of Americans are working remotely now due to the COVID-19, according to multiple independent sources. 64% of US employees are working from home now

Working from home saves energy and time by cutting out the commute, but it may increase your home energy bills a lot unless you use energy-saving office equipment.

ENERGY STAR office equipment savings, as much as 90% savings for some products.


Overall, ENERGY STAR office products use about half the electricity of standard equipment. Along with saving energy directly, this equipment can reduce air-conditioning loads, noise from fans and transformers, and electromagnetic field emissions from monitors.

Home Office Tips

Selecting energy-efficient office equipment—personal computers (PCs), monitors, copiers, printers, and fax machines—and turning off machines when they are not in use can result in enormous energy savings.

An ENERGY STAR computer uses 70% less electricity than computers without this designation  If left inactive, ENERGY STAR computers enter a low-power mode and use 15 watts or less. Spending a large portion of time in low-power mode not only saves energy, but helps equipment run cooler and last longer.

To maximize savings with a laptop, put the AC adapter on a power strip that can be turned off (or will turn off automatically); the transformer in the AC adapter draws power continuously, even when the laptop is not plugged into the adapter.

Common misconceptions sometimes account for the failure to turn off equipment. Many people believe that equipment lasts longer if it is never turned off. This incorrect perception carries over from the days of older mainframe computers.

ENERGY STAR computers and monitors save energy only when the power management features are activated, so make sure power management is activated on your computer.

There is a common misconception that screen savers reduce energy use by monitors; they do not. Automatic switching to sleep mode or manually turning monitors off is always the better energy-saving strategy.

Long-Term Savings Tip

Consider buying a laptop for your next computer upgrade; they use much less energy than desktop computers.

Home Electronics Tips

Look for energy-saving ENERGY STAR home electronics.

Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These “phantom” loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off.

This can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.

Unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use.

Studies have shown that using rechargeable batteries for products like cordless phones and PDAs is more cost effective than throwaway batteries. If you must use throwaways, check with your trash removal company about safe disposal options.

If this is sounding like I’m an ENERGYSTAR salesman, I apologize. But there is simply no better way to quickly reduce your energy consumption in your appliances than using this one method.

What You Can Do Starting Today

1) Get started immediately examining your appliances. If they are old, and it is in your budget, consider changing them out for ENERGYSTAR appliances. If it’s not in your budget, then another option is to get an ENERGYSTAR appliance used.

2) Examine other household appliances, such as TV, computer, etc: Become familiar with “phantom loads” and work to eliminate them by installing power strips and using them.

3.) Get used to unplugging appliances when not in use. This one tip alone can do more to lower your appliance costs than any other.

4.) Make it a point to start buying ENERGYSTAR appliances. Everything is going to need to be replaced sometime. Get in the habit now of reading the energy guides and comparing them to different models. You’ll start seeing the drastic difference in energy draws between them and how sense this advice make.

PS…Don’t forget you can get personalized coaching at Off-Grid-Living.com/ For some this is the ideal way to get hands on experience as well as personal attention needed to make this work for you.

Coming Up Next ...

In the next lesson we'll cover cooking and solar ovens. Solar ovens are simple and cheap to build. This info is good to know in an emergency. With a camp propane stove and a solar oven, you can cook a feast.

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