If you haven’t replaced your refrigerator since Bill Clinton was in the White House, it may be time to change more than the light bulb. The Department of Energy’s Energy Star website recommends replacing any fridge over 10 years of age. According to Bryce Ruble, a sales representative at Clark Appliance of Indianapolis, your initial cash outlay may be recovered in just a few years. “If your refrigerator is from the 1980s, the new ones will save $100 a year,” he says. “If you’re still using one from the ’70s, your savings could add up to $200 a year.”

And for those who want to run a greener household, starting with the refrigerator just makes sense. “Most stats say refrigerators are the biggest energy consumer in a household,” says Glenn Livers, a marketing program manager at Indianapolis Power & Light Company. The common 14-percent estimate of annual energy usage adds up as refrigerators are about the only appliance that runs 24 hours a day, seven days week, 365 days a year.

To help you compute the possible dollar savings from a newer model, the Energy Star website, has a calculator that helps determine your appliance’sannual cost. If you’re an IPL customer, your electric rate is .07 cents per kilowatt hour, so according to the calculator, replacing a1992 side-by-side refrigerator with a new Energy Star-rated model could save $390 over five years. Duke Energy rates are a bit higher—on my bill about .09 cents per kilowatt hour—so the savings would be even more.

Now that you’re convinced it’s time, how can you find the most energyefficient model?

Look for the Star. Most experts recommend you start by looking for the Energy Star symbol, which shouldn’t be hard to find. “Most appliance manufacturers have dramatically cut the amount of energy that refrigerators use, so it’s easy to find models that qualify for the Energy Star symbol,” Ruble says. “Once you have it narrowed down to a few models, then you’ll want to compare the yellow sticker that tells how many kilowatt hours they use annually.”

Side-by-side or top-mounted? According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, side-byside
refrigerator/freezers use more energy than similarly sized models with the freezer on top, even if they both carry
the Energy Star rating. The government holds the two categories to different standards, allowing side-by-sides to use
10 to 30 percent more energy.

Skip the bells and whistles. The ACEEE says automatic icemakers and through-the-door dispensers increase energy use by 14 to 20 percent, and they also raise the purchase price by $75 to $250. If your family is constantly opening the door for cold water or ice, however, the savings from keeping the door closed may cancel out the operating savings, Ruble says.

Size matters. Livers recommends buying the minimum amount of cubic feet that your family needs. “A bigger refrigerator is always going to use more energy than a similar smaller model,” she says. However, buying a smaller
model for your kitchen and then having a second refrigerator in your garage or basement isn’t the solution. “Having just one refrigerator is much better than running two,” Livers says.

For IPL customers, there’s an additional incentive to replace or retire an old model. In effect since June 2010, the power company will pick up and dispose of your old refrigerator, and if it still works, you’ll get a rebate of $30. “We can make sure that it’s disposed of in a responsible way,” Livers says. “Plus, 90 to 95 percent of the components are recyclable.”

Comments (0)

Name

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment