Energy Efficient Appliances

Buying energy efficient appliances is a step that nearly everyone can take to reduce our impact on the environment.  Before you even think about investing in a solar or wind system, invest in energy efficiency and reduce your load.  The payback time is generally short, plus it can hugely reduce the size (and cost) of the alternate energy system needed to power your home, should you decide to add one in the future.

Ways to reduce energy use of common household appliances - Very nice comparison of different cooking methods, dishwashing options, clothes washing and drying, portable space heaters and waterbeds - how much energy different options use and how to choose the best one for you.

Electrical Load Chart from Winco Generator - This chart give a listing of typical appliance and tool loads in Watts/hour.

Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings: Condensed Online Version by the American Council for and Energy-Efficient Economy  From the site:  This Web guide lists, to the best of our knowledge, the most energy-efficient residential appliances available in the United States for central air conditioners, refrigerators, dishwashers and clothes washers. Only the highest-rated models are listed within each appliance category. You should be aware that the models listed here represent fewer than 5% of all the different models currently available. Many appliances are above average in efficiency, but space limitations prevent us from listing them all.

The Alternative Energy Store - A good place to find energy saving appliances.  Everything from evaporative coolers and fans to stoves, refrigerators and tankless water heaters.

Appliances at affordable solar - Another good place to find energy saving appliances.  Everything from evaporative coolers and fans to stoves, refrigerators and tankless water heaters.  These guys have composting toilets, too.

What appliances we have and how they've been working for us

Clothes Washer and Dryer - When we moved, we gave our old washer and dryer to my niece and replaced them with a Whirlpool duet washer and dryer.  So far, so good.  I can stuff an entire king sized comforter in and get it clean, no problem.  It uses less water and less electricity than a typical vertical axis washer.  We did have some concerns about leaks, as August's brother's LG washer developed one when it was only a few years old, so we put a drip pan underneath that ties into the house drainpipes (the laundry room is right above all the electrical panels in the basement).  We usually run both the washer and dryer on the default settings, unless I'm washing something bulky or heavily soiled.  There is a sterilization option on the washer that boosts the temperature, but I've never used it. 

We also have a Filtrol 160 laundry filter installed on the outlet of the washer.  It not only keeps the lint out of the the septic field, it lets me see how dirty the water is that's coming out of the machine.  If the cycle is complete but the water is still very dirty (say, after the boys have been wallowing in the mud), I can run the load through another rinse and spin.  I usually empty this filter every week or so, which is significantly easier than cleaning out the filter in the septic tank (that is nasty).  I just wish they had made it (the Filtrol 160) a little easier to open.  Right now I have to pry the lid off with a knife to take the filter out and dump it in the garbage.

The dryer usually finishes faster than the washer by a few minutes.  The moisture sensor may leave pants pockets a little damp, but I just flip the pockets out and set them somewhere in the house (usually over the back of a chair) to finish drying.  I'd rather have that than the rest of the load being over-dried.  We have a very short vent run (the dryer is up against an exterior wall).  This does seem to help the dryer work a little better.  When the weather permits, we have a clothes line out on the deck that can hold a couple of loads.  We choose a gas dryer rather than an electric, to match a lower quality energy (heat from propane) to a load that required only heat.  This is more efficient than burning a fossil fuel to produce heat to produce electricity and then converting that electricity back to heat.

Another note about wash day unrelated to the choice of washer and dryer...when I'm doing laundry, I'll generally run one load through the washer and then wait a couple of hours before starting the next and putting the first load in the dryer.  I do this to spread out the flow of water into the septic system - to reduce the shock load.  I don't start drying the first load until I'm washing the second so that the dryer is still warm from the first load when I put in the second.  It's a small thing, but I figure even small things add up over time.

What's Cooking - the Stove, Oven, Microwave, and Toaster Oven

We've actually got two ovens, because I cook and bake a lot.  I wanted to get a two oven gas stove (one smaller oven, one larger) but they were terribly expensive.  I do most of our cooking on our gas range, which is a GE JGBP33CEH3CC.  We choose a gas range to match the fuel to the end use (as above with the dryer).  I also feel like I have more control over the temperature of the burners than I did with my old electric range.  This particular model has an extra large capacity oven, which allows me to fit three nine inch round cake pans in the oven at the same time.  I actually took my cake pans to the appliance store when we went shopping and checked this out, as one of my favorite cake recipes makes three layers at once.  The only problems we have had with the range was that the burners were slow to light at first and I couldn't turn down the temp enough.  I called the service number and they came out and checked it free of charge.  The repair man adjusted the gas flow to each burner (they were getting too much propane) and ordered replacement pieces for the burners (ours were slightly crooked, supposedly).  We haven't had any problems since.

We also have a GE JTP20C0F4CC electric wall oven mounted under our counter.  This gets used less frequently, so I wasn't as concerned about the fuel source.  This oven can also fit three nine inch round pans.  It's nice to use in the winter, as it has a blower that circulates the warm air around the room (to keep the counter from overheating).

One of the best accessories for any oven (if you do any baking) is an Oven Guard.  This particular one is a round tray with a hole in the center intended for use with pies.  You set the pie in the middle of the tray, and then if it runs over it's on the tray, not all over your oven. When you're done baking, simply place the tray in the sink to soak.  It's so much easier than cleaning the oven.  If you're ordering one of those, you may also want to consider a one piece pie shield.  I used to use aluminum foil, and then I tried a multi-piece shield, but this is soooooo much easier.  I liked it so much I got a nine inch and a ten inch, plus I got one for my mom and my sister (I got them both an oven guard, too).

Our microwave is a Sharp Carousel R-510HK.  Microwaves draw a lot of power, but only for a short time, plus they don't heat up your kitchen, an advantage when the weather is warm.  This model has the standard options, plus it can fit a 9x13 baking dish and still allow the carousel to rotate.  We also have a Black & Decker Toaster Oven and a crockpot for cooking.  The toaster oven is nice for doing small batches of things, like fish sticks for the boys for lunch or bagels for breakfast.  I don't use the crockpot a lot, but I am thinking about experimenting some more this year.  Anything you can do to more closely match the heat source to the item to be cooked without losing energy to your surroundings, generally reduces your load (not really as much of an issue during the heating season, but definitely more important during the cooling season).

Washing the dishes

We do have a dishwasher (other than myself), a Whirlpool Quiet Partner III GU2455XTST.  I only run it when it's full, and I make sure to select the air dry option (not the heated dry).  Most of the energy use associated with running a dishwasher comes from heating the water, not the mechanical operation of the washer, so properly using a dishwasher may actually save energy compared to hand washing the dishes.  The unit is, of course, Energy Star certified.

Food storage

Our refrigerator is a Whirlpool EB21DKXBN00, which has been discontinued.  It has a bottom freezer, which tends to be more energy efficient than a side-by-side.  We skipped the ice maker, as not only does it take more electricity, it's also one of the features most likely to fail on a refrigerator, according to Consumer Reports.  We have an upright Amana freezer, which is less energy efficient than a chest freezer (in general, we did get an Energy Star certified model).  We choose an upright instead of a chest freezer because it's easier to get access to the food you're looking for - you can't use what you can't find.  We've been happy with both of these.  They get defrosted once a year, and I regularly clean the dust off the cooling coils at the bottom of the fridge with a small brush and vacuum (probably four times a year).  We also have a root cellar underneath our front porch that is accessed from the basement, and in cool/cold weather we use the garage and/porch for additional cold storage.  There is also un unheated "cool room" in the basement where we keep home canned items and produce that stores best in cool, dry conditions.

Links

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