|
|
|
| Smart buying for electrical appliances and fixtures | |
| When you want to buy or need to replace appliances or electric components, use the following recommendations to get the best deal in energy conservation. The amount of energy you save in these choices not only helps the environment but will also recover the cost of your purchase over the lifetime of the appliance. Buyers have found, for example, that buying an Energy Star or Energy A rated new refrigerator to replace one that was built five years ago will pay for itself in three or four years in electricity savings. | |
| • Always buy appliances and equipment such as refrigerators and computers that display the Energy Star label or have an energy rating of A. These products are designed to give you the best energy efficiency. | |
| • When buying a new computer, buy a laptop or notebook model instead of a desktop. Buy a model with the lowest MHz processor speed, 500 MHz is more than adequate for most users. | |
| • Choose a dish washer that has a booster heater to raise the incoming water temperature to over 140°F/60°C to clean the dishes; this lets you keep your home water heater at the lower setting of 120°F/50°C, saving a lot of energy, pollution, and cost. | |
| • When you are buying a new fridge or freezer, buy the most energy efficient design: side-by-side refrigerators use from 7 to 13 percent more energy than similar sized models with the freezer on top or bottom; chest freezers are more efficient than upright ones because they don't allow the cold air to spill out when opened; fridges with exterior ice dispensers use much more electricity than those without this frill. | |
| [ previous ] [ return ] | |