The USA Green Lady  

Energy in the Kitchen and Laundry Room

When selecting appliances many times it is the features such as the six burners, timed delayed cook, or instant crushed ice that can draw our eye.  Although those features are very important to the consumer, another feature than can be often overlooked is the energy efficiency of the appliance.

Energy efficiency is as important as any feature to the product.  An easy way to make sure that you are purchasing an efficient appliance is to look for the Energy Star label.  The label denotes how much energy the appliance typically uses per year and how much it would approximately cost you to run the appliance.

Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy which helps us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products. Energy efficient choices can save families about one third of their energy bill with similar saving of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style or comfort. 

For a complete list of Energy Star appliances please check out www.EnergyStar.gov

Refrigerators

Many top line model refrigerators now have Energy Star ratings.  Refrigerators that are Energy Star rated require approximately half as much energy as models manufactured prior to 1993.  As a matter of fact, Energy Star models use 40% less energy than the conventional models sold in 2001 and 20% less energy than required by the current federal standards.

The refrigerator is the single biggest energy consuming kitchen appliance.  If you would replace a refrigerator bought in 1990 with a new Energy Star qualified model, you would save enough energy to light the average household for almost three months.

Some helpful tips:

Position your refrigerator away from a heat source such as an oven, dishwasher, or direct sunlight from a window

All air to circulate around the condenser coils and leave a space between the wall or cabinets

Keep coils clean

Keep refrigerator between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit

Recycle your older of second refrigerator. For more information go to www.RecycleMyOldFridge.com

Clothes Washer

Clothes washers that are energy efficient come in either front-load or redesigned top-load designs.  Energy Star rated clothes washers cut energy and water consumption by up to 40% compared to conventional washers.

The characteristics that make a clothes washer more energy efficient are the high spin speeds and no central agitator.  With an efficient motor that spins clothes two to three time fasters than during a normal spin cycle, it can extract more water.  With less water absorbed into your clothes that means that it will take less time and energy to dry the clothes.  Front load clothes washers tumble clothes through a small amount of water instead of rubbing clothes against an agitator in a full tub of water.  Advanced top loaders use sophisticated wash systems to flip or spin clothes through a reduced stream of water.  Both designs dramatically reduce the amount of hot water use in the wash cycle, and the energy used to heat it.