Ever seen those mean and nasty rerigerator magnets shaped like a fat and
happy pink pig? Every time the door is
opened the pig oinks. Porky might not be
commenting on the person opening the door; refrigerators are the biggest energy
hogs in the house.
However, they have improved and continue to do so. In the 1980s the Department of Energy set
Energy Guide standards that all appliances must meet and they must display the
Energy Guide label, that bright yellow tag that most of us refer to as the
Energy Star label because that is the department that publicizes it. The Energy Star certification, however, is
voluntary while the Energy Guide standards are mandatory. As an aside, according to Consumer Reports,
when these standards were enacted there was fear that the cost of appliances
would increase. This has not happened
and many appliances cost less now in 2009 dollars than they did then. Regulation can be a good thing.
A top-rated green refrigerator manufactured today uses about 30 percent less
energy per cubic foot than a refrigerator built before 2001 and 60 percent less
than one manufactured in the 1980s In
addition to the better performance of newer models when manufactured, the
efficiency of a unit degrades over time.
For example, using the energy calculator provided by Consumer Reports (www.greenerchoices.org) I found that
my Amana refrigerator manufactured in 1995 was originally rated as using 585
kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
Today, due to its age and wear and tear, the manufacturer estimates its
usage at 701 kWh.
The cost of operating my old Amana is estimated at $68.77 per year while a
new model, also an Amana that was rated as a best buy by Consumer Reports and
was close to the least expensive one they rated was 46.70.
It is almost always greener to keep using what you already have, but when an
old refrigerator breaks it doesn't make sense to repair it. A new one will pay for itself in energy
savings over its lifetime.
In shopping for a new refrigerator there are several criteria that will
impact on energy efficiency.
Pick a size that fits your needs. A
larger unit uses more energy but one that isn't big enough to hold the families
food needs will necessitate more trips to the store.
Side-by-side models are the least efficient.
Those with the freezer on the bottom use about 16 percent less
electricity and top freezer types about 13 percent less than side-by-side. Those through the door ice and water
dispensers also require about 15 percent more energy even though they may cut
down on opening and closing the door.
Refrigerators with a switch that allows the heating coils to be turned down
or off will save about 10 percent on electrical use. An automatic defrost
feature uses more power but so does a manual defrost model that is not cleaned
out regularly.
Before shopping for a new refrigerator, check out the Energy Star ratings at
www.energystar.gov and Consumer
Reports rankings at the website above.
Also you may qualify for a federal or state energy tax credit or a
utility company rebate. Michigan's
largest utility announced a program on Monday to pay its customers $50 for
recycling their old refrigerators.
If you are stuck for the time being with refrigerator you already have there
are ways of improving its efficiency. We
will cover those next.