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COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE • UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, LEXINGTON, KY, 40546

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Home & Environment Saving Energy and Money Appliances Tyler Henningsen and Ashley Osborne, Agriculture and Natural Resources

he average single family household spends $1,900 for their utility costs per Tyear. Appliance usage makes up a large amount of this cost, typically up to 14 percent of a household’s energy demand. ENERGY STAR–approved appliances are designed for efficient energy use and can reduce energy as well as other household bills. In this Publication Appliances • Appliances Appliances are designed to save time A refrigerator can use almost $100 worth of electricity a year. Use the • Refrigerator and money, but if an appliance is not in itself energy efficient or is oper- following practical ways to reduce its • Freezer ated improperly it could be wasting impact on your energy bills. • Washer and Dryer money. Ensuring that you have an • Keep the refrigerator out of direct • ENERGY STAR–approved appliance sunlight or if it must be located is one solution; another is the proper • Stove and against an exterior wall, choose one operation, location, and maintenance • Oven that does not receive direct sunlight of appliances. The largest energy to reduce the energy needed to • Shopping for Appliances using appliances in your household • Total Cost are the refrigerator, freezer, washing keep the contents cool. • ENERGY STAR and dryer, dishwasher, stove, • Allow sufficient room behind, above and below the refrigerator; at least • Energy Guide Label and microwave oven.

ENERGY STAR is a program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy. The program promotes products that are energy efficient. When you see the ENERGY STAR logo on a product, you know that it is an energy efficient product. The ENERGY STAR logo can be found on a wide variety of products including appliances, and electronics, heat- ing and cooling equipment, lighting and fans, and even plumbing equipment. For more information about ENERGY STAR visit the website at http://www.energystar.gov/.

Agriculture and Natural Resources • Family and Consumer Sciences • 4-H Youth Development • Community and Economic Development EXTENSION 2 inches allows sufficient air move- When shopping for a refrigerator, ment, keeping the condenser coils there are a couple of things to keep in cool and prolonging the life of the mind. with the ENERGY refrigerator. STAR label use at least 20 percent less energy than the current federal • Make sure that the refrigerator is standards require. Models with an not located near any heating ele- automatic moisture control feature ments such as the stove or dish- reduce the cost of operation of the washer. refrigerator by preventing the need • Make sure that your refrigerator for heating elements in the unit to door seals are airtight. Check the remove condensed moisture from the seal by placing a piece of paper outside of the refrigerator. Refrigera- between the door and body, then tors with the freezer on top are more shutting the door and removing the energy efficient than side-by-side paper. If the paper comes out easily refrigerator/freezers. the hinge or seals may need adjust- Freezer Refrigerators with the ment or replacing. If you use a stand-alone freezer, use freezer on top are more • Allow hot to cool before plac- the following methods to reduce energy efficient than ing them in the refrigerator, and energy use. side-by-side refrigerators. cover all liquids and foods as the moisture they release makes the • Make sure the seal on the door of refrigerator work harder. your freezer is airtight. • Keep your refrigerator around 37 • Keep a stand-alone freezer in a degrees F and your freezer at 5 cool place, such as the basement degrees F to keep your at the or garage. appropriate temperature and avoid • Maintain the temperature at 0 wasting energy on over-cooling. degrees F for long-term storage; • Remove any frost that accumulates. otherwise keep the temperature at 5 degrees F. • Instead of microwaving a frozen item to thaw it, remove it from the Washer and Dryer freezer the night before you intend Washers and dryers can use almost to use it and place it in the refrig- $80 worth of electricity each year. For a erator to thaw. This practice saves top-loading washer, 90 percent of that energy from not microwaving and is used in heating water. The following reduces the amount of work your methods will help reduce the cost of refrigerator has to do by using the operating your washer and dryer. cold released by the food as it thaws • Use cold water whenever possible rather than using energy to cool the when washing clothes. contents of the fridge. • Wash full loads or, if you cannot, set the water level setting to an appro- priate level. • Make sure that your clothes have gone through a full spin cycle. The less water in your clothes the less energy your dryer uses. • Clean out the lint filter in your drier after every use.

2 • Use the moisture sensor, if your • Keep burners and reflectors clean. machine has one, to stop the dryer They will be more efficient, cook when the clothes are dry and pre- faster, and save you money. vent over drying. • Make sure to match your burner to • Use a drying rack or clothesline to your pot size. If you use a burner dry clothes. that is too large for the pot you are When shopping for a washing ma- using, heat and energy can be wast- chine, look for an ENERGY STAR–ap- ed. Using a 6-inch pot on an 8-inch proved machine as it uses half the burner wastes 40 percent of the en- energy of regular washers and usually ergy that the burner is generating. half the water as well. Also look for • Use a oven or microwave a dryer that has a moisture sensor instead of the oven for small meals. that can turn off the dryer when your A toaster oven only takes a third to clothes are dry. This feature saves energy and extends the life of your half as much energy to heat up as clothes. an oven. • If using a natural gas range, make ENERGY STAR–approved Dishwasher sure your flames are blue. Yellow use 41 percent Dishwashers use close to $50 worth flames mean gas is being wasted less energy than the of electricity per year, most of which and your range may need to be federal standard and use is used to heat water. The following serviced. simple guidelines will help you save When purchasing a new stove or less water as well. on both energy and water costs. oven be aware that there are cur- • Do not rinse your dishes unless rently no ENERGY STAR–approved food is dried or burned on; instead, models because there is not a large scrape large food items off and just discrepancy in energy usage between models. When buying a new stove or place the dish in the dishwasher. oven look for the Energy Guide label; Modern dishwashers are made to it will give you an estimate for the an- remove food debris. nual costs of operating the appliance. • Make sure to remove fats, oils, and When buying a natural gas stove, look grease (FOGs) from your dishes and for a model that has an electrical igni- pans before washing; they can clog tion system instead of a pilot . A drains and reduce the effectiveness pilot light is constantly using natural of your dishwasher. gas, but an electric ignition system • Only wash full loads. only uses energy when you light the stove. • Let your dishes air dry by either using the air-dry switch on the Microwave Oven dishwasher or by propping the dish- Microwave typically cost less washer door open slightly. than $20 a year to operate. They can Stove and Oven use as much as 80 percent less energy than a conventional oven and do not An electric range and oven can cost add additional heat to the home, sav- over $50 in electricity per year to ing on cooling costs in the summer. operate. To help reduce its impact With this large energy savings, small on your bills, make the following meals and leftovers should be cooked changes. in a microwave oven. Be aware that • Cover the pot when water. microwave ovens are not approved by The water will boil faster and use ENERGY STAR as there is not a large less energy. variation in the amount of energy con- sumed between models. 3 Shopping for Appliances You should understand some general concepts before shopping for a new appliance. These concepts include understanding the “total cost” of an appliance, what an ENERGY STAR label means, and how to read an Energy Guide label.

Total Cost The total cost of an appliance is not just the price you pay when you purchase the appliance, but also includes the cost of using the appliance through- out its lifetime. Think of the total cost of the appliance as being three price tags. The first price is how much the Average Life appliance is to take home, the second Energy Guide labels allow you to Span of Appliances price is how much it will cost to use compare operating costs between Dishwasher - 10 years the appliance over its life, and the third models of an appliance, making you price is the total of the previous two. - 11 years a better consumer and saving you The life span of an appliance can be up and your household money each year. Refrigerator - 14 years to 20 years, so choosing an appliance However, remember: Just because an that is less expensive to operate can appliance has an Energy Guide tag save you money in the long term, even doesn’t mean it is an ENERGY STAR– if the initial cost is higher. approved appliance. ENERGY STAR Sources Buying an ENERGY STAR–approved appliance can contribute to significant U.S. Department of Energy. 2009. savings over the lifetime of the prod- Energy Savers Booklet: Tips on uct, so be sure to look for the ENERGY Saving Energy & Money at Home. STAR label when shopping for a new Available at http://www1.eere.en- appliance. ergy.gov/consumer/tips/pdfs/en- ergy_savers.pdf (accessed 12 mar. Energy Guide Label 2010). U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. Energy Guide labels can be found on all major appliances including refrig- eXtension.org. 2010. How to Se- erators, refrigerator/freezers, freezers, lect Home Appliances that Save water heaters, dishwashers, clothes Energy and Money. Available at washers, room air conditioners, and http://www.extension.org/pages/ furnaces. The program is run by the How_to_Select_Home_Applianc- U.S. Federal Trade Commission and es_that_Save_Energy_and_Money gives an estimate of the appliance’s (accessed 12 mar. 2010). www. annual operation costs and its energy eXtension.org. usage.

Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Issued in furtherance of Coop- erative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, M. Scott Smith, Director, Land Grant Programs, University of Ken- tucky College of Agriculture, Lexington, and Kentucky State University, Frankfort. Copyright © 2010 for materials developed by University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. This publication may be reproduced in portions or its entirety for educational or nonprofit purposes only. Permitted users shall give credit to the author(s) and include this copyright notice. Publications are also available on the World Wide Web at www.ca.uky.edu. Issued 8-2010 Photos © 2010 Jupiter Images Corporation