Appliances That Make Your House Energy Efficient

Energy-efficient household appliances reduce energy use and environmental impact.

An energy-efficient home saves energy and reduces the overall cost of your energy bill, as appliances that contain the Energy Star icon are run through rigorous testing to ensure they meet the government's energy efficiency standards. Common household appliances, including refrigerators, washers, air conditioners and water heaters, that have the Energy Star label use less energy than older appliances made in the 1970s and 1980s, and cause less pollution in the environment.

Refrigerators

Refrigerators require a lot of energy due to the constant need to maintain the temperature of stored food; temperatures fluctuate every time the refrigerator door is opened and closed. A refrigerator can easily raise your electricity bill if it is an older model. Purchase a fridge that has a freezer section on top or bottom rather than next to it to reduce your energy use. Freezers that are of equal size to the refrigeration side use more energy to maintain the temperature, while top or bottom freezers are 1/3 the size of the refrigerator. Bottom freezers use 16 percent less energy than side freezers, and top freezers use 13 percent less energy than side freezers, according to the California Energy Commission Consumer Energy Center

Washers

A clothes washer is an energy hog, but top-loading washers newer than 1994 use less water, and therefore use less energy to clean your clothes. Choose washers with high-speed spin cycles, which reduces the energy used later to dry your clothing. Top-loading machines have become more efficient washers as they use pressurized water to remove soap from your clothing, which is better for reducing energy use. Front-loading machines use less water, which distributes more evenly during the wash cycle. Because they use less water, they also use less energy to heat the water.

Air Conditioner

Air conditioners require a great deal of electricity to cool and maintain the temperature of a room, and use energy based on the appliance's BTUs (British Thermal Unit). The higher the air conditioner's BTU, the more energy the air conditioner uses. Choose the appropriate air conditioner size to cool your room, as smaller, energy-efficient air conditioners use less energy to cool larger rooms than a large air conditioner that constantly turns itself on and off. Look for air conditioners with a high seasonal energy efficiency ratio rating (SEER), which determines the energy efficiency of the air conditioner. A SEER rating higher than 14 is considered highly efficient.

Water Heater

Choose a water heater that has an energy factor of 0.8. High-efficiency water heaters use gas rather than electricity to provide hot water for showers, kitchens and washing machines. On average, washers use 32 gallons of hot water during a high-heat setting wash and rinse, and around 20 gallons of hot water for showers. Tankless water heaters are also suitable for one to two occupant households, as they supply hot water only when needed rather than warming up water in a tank. Also known as on-demand water heaters, tankless water heaters use up to 20 percent less energy than heaters that use a tank. Alternately, solar water heaters use renewable energy to heat your home's water, as they pull energy from the sun's heat to warm the water. Solar water heaters can reduce your energy bill by $500 during the first year of use, and continue to reduce energy costs as electricity rates increase over time.

References

• Natural Resources Defense Council: Efficient Appliances Save Energy--and Money
• Energy Savers: Reduce Hot Water Use for Energy Savings
• Consumer Energy Center: Refrigerators & Freezers
• Arizona Public Service Company: SEER