Energy Efficient Appliances
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CONTENTS Introduction. ....................... ...................... 1 Refrigerators. ~ . .. .4 Freezers .......................................................... Clothes Washers and Dishwashers. ~ . .9 Water Heaters.. .ll Room Air Conditioners. .I4 Central Air Conditioners. .. , . .16 Central Heat Pumps.. .18 Gas Furnaces and Boilers. , . .20 Oil Furnacesand Boilers .......................................... 23 Comparison Shopping and Lifecycle Costs. .26 For Morelnformation.............................................. 28 -.A!-- THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS. USE- IT W1SEl.Y. The Most Energy-Efficient Appliances-1991 Edition Copyright @ 1991 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Washington, D.G. ? . INTRODUCTION The Importance of Energy-Efficient Appliances Using appliances and heating and cooling equipment costs an average household more than $1000 per year. You can sharply reduce your own energy bill by using high-efficiency appliances and space conditioning equipment. Highly efficient appliances may be slightly more expensive to buy than comparable models with lower or average efficiencies. However, the extra first cost for a more efficient appliance is paid back through reduced energy bills long before the product wears out. Energy-efficient appliances also have a positive effect on the national economy and the environment. The efficient use of oil, gas, and electricity cuts petroleum imports, improves US. economic competitiveness, and reduces the environmental degradation associated with energy production and use. One-third of the electricity produced in the U.S. is consumed in our homes. Refrigerators alone use the equivalent of the output of over 20 large nuclear power plants-about 5% of the nation’s total electricity consumption. If all the households in the US. had the most efficient refrigerators currently available, the electricity savings would eliminate the need for about 10 large power plants! National Appliance Efficiency Standards On March 17, 1987, President Reagan signed into law the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987. This law established minimum efficiency standards for major home appliances and heating and cooling equipment. The standards for clothes washers and dishwashers took effect January 1, 1988, requiring a cold water rinse option on new models. The standards for most other appliances took effect on January 1, 1990. The standards for central air conditioners and furnaces will not take effect until 1992, because it will take longer to make the necessary changes in these larger products. We estimate that these standards will save consumers at least $28 billion over the lifetimes of the products sold through the year 2000, or about $300 per household. Furthermore, the standards will reduce peak electricity demand by the equivalent of 25 large power plants. Even though the standards eliminate the production of energy-guzzling appliances, consumers can still benefit from selecting highly-efficient appliances that significantly exceed the national appliance efficiency standards. These high efficiency appliances provide the opportunity to achieve substantial energy savings. Appliances are still available over a broad range of efficiencies, and consumers would be wise to shop carefully 1 for efficient models. After all, the air conditioner, furnace, or refrigerator you buy today will still be in use 15 or 20 years from now. Utility Rebate Programs Some utilities offer rebates to consumers who purchase energy-efficient appliances. Rebates reduce the net purchase price of high-efficiency models, making them even more attractive to consumers. By offering incentives for the purchase of high-efficiency equipment, utilities are buying energy “supplied” through conservation at a lower cost than through traditional means, such as building new power plants. Rebates are most common on high-efficiency heat pumps and central air conditioners. Rebates on room air conditioners and water heaters are also sometimes available. Rebate programs are more common among electric companies than gas companies, although some gas utilities offer rebates for high-efficiency furnaces and other products. If you plan to buy a major appliance soon, ask your utility if they offer rebates for efficient models. The Information in this Booklet This booklet lists, to the best of our knowledge, the most energy-efficient residential appliances available in the US. as of July, 1990. Because of space limitations, only the very highest-rated models are listed within each appliance category. The models listed here represent fewer than 5% of all the different models currently available. Many more appliances are above average in terms of efficiency, but space limitations prevent us from listing them all. Our lists are based on information in the most recent product directories published by the appliance industry associations. We have tried to include highly efficient models not listed in the directories where information is available. However, we only include models that are mass-produced and widely-distributed in the US. Also, we only include products for which there are standardized efficiency ratings. Therefore, this booklet does not cover ranges, ovens, clothes dryers, solar water heaters, wood stoves, tankless water heaters, portable space heaters, or air-to-air heat exchangers. The efficiency ratings are based on the standardized tests that manufactur- ers are required to conduct on their products. The same test ratings are used on the yellow EnergyGuide labels now required for most home appliances. The lists of refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, and dishwashers include the estimated annual energy cost as it appears on the most recent EnergyGuide labels. The base price of energy (such as the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity) used to determine the price on the EnergyGuide labels has changed in recent years. Some labels based on the older, cheaper cost can still be found in showrooms. Therefore, when comparing EnergyGuide labels, use the same energy price. 1 The lists of furnaces, boilers, water heaters, air conditioners and heat pumps include their efficiency ratings instead of estimated energy use and cost. The energy use for these appliances varies greatly from house to house depending on climate, family size, and other factors. But the efficiency rating is a good indicator of relative energy use and operating cost-the higher the efficiency, the lower the energy use and operating cost. We realize that energy performance is one of several important criteria for selecting home appliances. We do not collect information on product reliability and other concerns. However, energy-efficient appliances are generally high quality products due to the better materials and components used in their construction. The model numbers in this booklet are used by manufacturers in their product directories. In some cases, appliance dealers use abbreviated model numbers (for example, dropping the first number or letter). An asterisk (*) appearing in a model number indicates a digit or letter that varies with features of the appliance not affecting efficiency and capacity (for example, color). How to Use This Information When you buy an appliance, you pay more than just the sales price-you commit yourself to paying the cost of running the appliance for as long as you own it. These energy costs can add up. For example, running a refrigerator for 15-20 years typically costs three times as much as the initial price of the refrigerator. The sum of the purchase price and the energy costs of running an appliance over its lifetime is called its lifecycle cost. The lifecycle costs of energy-efficientappliances are typically lower than the lifecycle costs of average models. Worksheets for comparing the lifecycle costs of different models of appliances are provided on page 27 of this guide. When shopping for major appliances, you may want to call several stores or dealers to check the price and availability of different models. Ask the salesperson for information about the efficiency of each model. The yellow EnergyGuide labels can help you compare similar models. We recommend that you disregard the ranges listed on the EnergyGuide labels, since they have not been updated for some time. In comparison shopping, use only the information given for the particular models you are considering. If you cannot find some of the models listed in this guide, you can still use the information in this booklet to your advantage. Compare the efficiencies of the models you can find to those listed here. The models listed in this booklet represent a very small fraction of all the new appliances now available; you may find products that just missed getting listed in this edition. 3 REFRlG ERATORS The energy efficiency of refrigerators has improved considerably over the past fifteen years. A typical new refrigerator with automatic defrost and a top-mounted freezer uses about 1000 kWh per year, whereas the typical model sold in 1973 used about 2000 kWh per year. The 1990 National Appliance Efficiency Standards specify the maximum electricity consumption allowed by refrigerators, according to volume and features. On average, the 1990 standards result in a 343% improvement in average efficiency over 1989 and earlier models. An even greater jump in efficiency will occur in 1993 when the next phase of the standards take effect. The models listed below are grouped by door style, defrosting capability and volume. Models are listed within each group