Power Use of Refrigerators
The prices of new refrigerators vary widely, starting at around $360 and climbing to more than $3,000. But the price you pay to bring home that appliance is only part of its long-term cost. The amount of power a refrigerator uses determines how much it will cost you to operate it each year. The government's Energy Star program notes that refrigerators made in the 1970s may cost $200 more a year to run than those built around 2011. Does this Spark an idea?
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Power Use of Older Appliances
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You can estimate how much it costs to run your appliance by using Energy Star's online Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator. Check your utility bill to determine the price you pay for each kilowatt-hour of electricity you use. Enter this information and some details about your current refrigerator to estimate how much you could save by buying a new fridge or getting rid of an extra one. You may obtain a more exact estimate by purchasing a special meter to plug your refrigerator into. This meter measures the amount of kilowatt-hours appliances use.
Energy Star Criteria
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Refrigerators that receive an Energy Star label must be 20 percent more energy-efficient than refrigerators that don't qualify for the program. They must also be 20 percent more efficient than models that only meet minimum federal efficiency standards. The Energy Star program classifies "full size" refrigerators as those with 7.75 or more cubic feet of capacity.
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Buying Advice
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Look for the bright yellow Energy Star label attached to refrigerators at your local store or included in their online listings. These labels show you how much electricity the refrigerator is expected to use over a year's time. The Energy Star program notes that you can save money by purchasing a refrigerator with a top-mounted freezer, because these models use up to 25 percent less energy than side-by-side or bottom-freezer refrigerators. You can also save up to 20 percent on energy costs by choosing a model without an ice/water dispenser that is accessed from the exterior of the refrigerator.
Top-Rated Models
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A full list of Energy Star-qualified refrigerators is available on the program's website. Large top-freezer models using the fewest kilowatt-hours per year include the Sun Frost RF-12 and RF-16, along with the Frigidaire FFHT10F2L* and the Kenmore 9704388*. Models leading the bottom-freezer category in January 2011 included the Whirlpool GB9FHDXW* and GB9FHDXV*, Maytag MBF1958XE* and Kenmore 6998*01*. Full-size refrigerators leading the side-by-side category included the GE GSS20GEZ**** and GSS20IEZ, the Viking LSSC243ST and the LG LSC24971** and LSSC243**. Asterisks in a model number are placeholders the manufacturers use to indicate features such as color.
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