[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Question about appliances

[Lawrence Lile]

Energy star appliances are an interesting dilemma.  Some of them save just a tiny amount of energy.  I looked into the economics of several, and concluded that the economics often isn't too good.  
 
I didn't see a big advantage in energy star washers and dryers, when I was looking at the economics.  Economics counts here, because I have a fixed amount of capitol to spend on energy conservation projects, and I want to get the most bang for my buck, both in energy and economic terms.  If I can save a few bucks on a fridge and invest a few more bucks on a solar hot water heater, I might be money and energy ahead.  .  
 
Water heaters might be an exception, energy star water heaters IIRC did have a decent payback.  
 
I ended up deciding to buy the cheapest model fridge that was still energy star rated, seeing little or no difference in most cases between that and the most expensive one. A fridge uses a little energy all the time, and adds up to a large amount of energy over a year.  I ended up buying some used dishwashers, washers and dryers, that probably weren't energy star units when they were made, but the embodied energy is already spent and they were dirt cheap.  Most of the energy used by a washer is probably hot water energy, and having an efficient hot water system is a big deal. 
 
I wonder if energy star rating includes a credit for energy used in manufacturing the unit?  Sometimes if you examine the numbers, it doesn't look like the energy star rated units are that much better.  What goes in to the decision to rate something energy star or not? 
 
Your Mileage May Vary
 
For example if you are on solar electricity, where conserving every watt counts, then spending three times the price on a fridge makes sense.  If your electricity is expensive, then the economics make more sense, or if you are just bent on conserving as much as possible (which I often am) then  energy star stuff can make sense.  But just buying an energy star appliance blindly without checking to see if it is really saving you much energy or money isn't what I'd recommend.  
 
  
 
 
--Lawrence Lile

________________________________

From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org on behalf of Bobbi Chukran
Sent: Mon 7/2/2007 11:25 PM
To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Subject: [BULK] [Greenbuilding] Question about appliances



Hi all,

We closed on our new downsized house this morning, and are pondering
whether to buy new appliances or keep our old ones until they quit
working.  We have a washer, electric dryer and refrigerator that are
all about 11 years old.

They are still in good working order.  Does it make sense "green
wise" to replace them now, or wait?  How much in energy $$ could we
conceivably save if we bought new Energy Star replacements?

And speaking of that, we bought a new freezer not long ago from
Sears.  They didn't have any Energy Star models that were
self-defrosting.  The salesperson said that we'd spend energy
defrosting the things and it would all even out.  I felt bad about
not buying an ES freezer, but at the time we had no choice.

BTW, our house does have natural gas for the range, but not for the
dryer.  We were wondering about the economics of adding a gas hook-up
so we could get a gas (and not electric) dryer.  Would that make
sense?

Are there any resources online for comparing old vs. new as far as
appliances go?

We naturally are trying to watch the budget, especially since we also
have to put an exhaust vent in for the gas range (it horrifies me to
see how  many of the houses just have a recirculating fan---haven't
they heard of carbon monoxide???), a dehumidifier and whole house
filter in the AC unit.

And a house full of new flooring.  Did I mention that the whole house
is carpeted, and I have chemical sensitivities?  Ugh.

Thanks....

bobbi c.

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