Knowledge Base

Other Appliances: Operation & Purchasing Tips

Kitchen, laundry and other electronic appliances account for a great deal of your household’s energy consumption, with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list. The following operating and purchasing tips can help reduce your energy bills.

General Purchasing Tips

When you’re shopping for appliances, think of two price tags: the purchase price (think of it as a down payment) and the operating cost over time. You’ll be paying operating costs every month on your utility bill for the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the appliance.
When you do shop for a new appliance, look for the ENERGY STAR label. ENERGY STAR products usually exceed minimum federal standards by a substantial amount. To help you figure out whether an appliance is energy efficient, the federal government requires most appliances to display the bright yellow and black EnergyGuide label. Although these labels will not tell you which appliance is the most efficient, they will tell you the annual energy consumption and operating cost for each appliance so you can compare them yourself. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy lists the energy performance of top-rated energy- saving appliances on its web site: www.aceee.org.

What's the Real Cost?

Every appliance has two price tags — the purchase price and the operating cost. Consider both when buying a new appliance.

How to Read the EnergyGuide Label

The EnergyGuide label gives you two important pieces of information you can use to compare different brands and models when shopping for a new refrigerator:

Estimated yearly operating cost based on the national average cost of electricity.
Estimated energy consumption on a scale showing a range for similar models

Dishwasher Tips

Scrape, don’t rinse, off large food pieces and bones. Soaking or prewashing is generally only recommended in cases of burned-on or dried-on food.
Be sure your dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, when you run it.
Avoid using the “rinse hold” on your machine for just a few soiled dishes. It uses 3 to 7 gallons of hot water each time you use it.
Let your dishes air dry; if you don’t have an automatic air-dry switch, turn off the control knob after the final rinse and prop the door open slightly so the dishes will dry faster.

Refrigerator Tips

Look for a refrigerator with automatic moisture control. Models with this feature have been engineered to prevent moisture accumulation on the cabinet exterior without the addition of a heater. This is not the same thing as an “anti-sweat” heater. Models with an anti-sweat heater will consume 5% to 10% more energy than models without this feature.
Don’t keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Recommended temperatures are 37° to 40°F for the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator and 5°F for the freezer section. If you have a separate freezer for long-term storage, it should be kept at 0°F.
To check refrigerator temperature, place an appliance thermometer in a glass of water in the center of the refrigerator. Read it after 24 hours. To check the freezer temperature, place a thermometer between frozen packages. Read it after 24 hours.
Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup decreases the energy efficiency of the unit. Don’t allow frost to build up more than one-quarter of an inch.
Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight. Test them by closing the door over a piece of paper or a dollar bill so it is half in and half out of the refrigerator. If you can pull the paper or bill out easily, the latch may need adjustment, the seal may need replacing, or you might consider buying a new unit.
Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.
Look for the ENERGY STAR label when buying a new refrigerator. Select a new refrigerator that is the right size for your household. Top freezer models are more energy efficient than side-by-side models. Features like icemakers and water dispensers, while convenient, will increase energy use.
Refrigerators with the freezer on the top are more efficient than those with freezers on the side.

Other Energy-Saving Kitchen Tips

Be sure to place the faucet lever on the kitchen sink in the cold position when using small amounts of water; placing the lever in the hot position uses energy to heat the water even though it may never reach the faucet.
If you need to purchase a natural gas oven or range, look for one with an automatic, electric ignition system. An electric ignition saves natural gas because a pilot light is not burning continuously.
In natural gas appliances, look for blue flames; yellow flames indicate the gas is burning inefficiently and an adjustment may be needed. Consult the manufacturer or your local utility.
Keep range-top burners and reflectors clean; they will reflect the heat better, and you will save energy.
Use a covered kettle or pan to boil water; i's faster and it uses less energy.
Match the size of the pan to the heating element.
Use small electric pans or toaster ovens for small meals rather than your large stove or oven. A toaster oven uses a third to half as much energy as a full-sized oven.
Use pressure cookers and microwave ovens whenever it is convenient to do so. They will save energy by significantly reducing cooking time.

Laundry Tips

Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents whenever possible.
Wash and dry full loads. If you are washing a small load, use the appropriate water-level setting.
Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
Don’t over-dry your clothes. If your machine has a moisture sensor, use it.
Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load to improve air circulation.
Use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer.
Periodically inspect your dryer vent to ensure it is not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire. Manufacturers recommend using rigid venting material, not plastic vents that may collapse and cause blockages.
Consider air-drying clothes on clotheslines or drying racks. Clothing manufacturers recommend air-drying for some fabrics.
Look for the ENERGY STAR and EnergyGuide labels. ENERGY STAR clothes washers clean clothes using 50% less energy than standard washers. Most full-sized ENERGY STAR washers use 15 gallons of water per load, compared to the 32.5 gallons used by a new standard machine. ENERGY STAR models also spin the clothes better, resulting in less drying time.
When shopping for a new clothes dryer, look for one with a moisture sensor that automatically shuts off the machine when your clothes are dry. Not only will this save energy, it will save the wear and tear on your clothes caused by over-drying. (ENERGY STAR does not label clothes dryers because most of them use similar amounts of energy, which means there is little difference in energy use between models.)

Safety plugs on all your outlets help reduce heat loss and increase energy efficiency.