Are You a Green Appliance Guru?

You appliances and electronics consume 20% of your home's energy use. These statistics include computers, televisions sets, clothes washers and refrigerators and so on. For this quiz, we are not counting central heating and cooling units, hot water heaters or light fixtures as appliances.

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The refrigerator consumes 8% of your home's energy by itself. All the other appliances combined use 9%. If you?re looking to start greening your appliances, start with the fridge.

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You can save over 250 dollars a year simply by unplugging your appliances from the walls. Don't unplug the fridge. All your food will go bad.

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You can use this equation to figure out how much your appliances are costing you a year. Look for your appliance's wattage. Multiply the wattage by the number of hours the appliance is used per day. Multiply that number by the number of days the appliance is used per year. Then divide your result by a 1000. In this case the answer is 2115.84 kWh. Multiply that number by your utility?s rate. (Well they charge an even nickel for a kWh.) 2115.84 x .05= 105.792 This appliance costs $105.79 to run per year. I promise. No more math problems.

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Most major appliances, excluding stoves and electronics, will have an Energy Guide label. The label gives the consumer information about the appliance's energy usage and how it compares to similar models.

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The toaster pops into the lead with an average wattage of 800-1400. The dehumidifier comes in a close second with a wattage of 785. The DVD player uses a piddly 20-25 watts.

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Uncovered food causes your fridge to work harder due to moisture. Cleaning the compressor coils, filling your fridge properly and keeping your fridge shaded are all methods to save energy.

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The amount of energy it takes to mine resources for the appliance, construct it, ship it, market it and store it, in most cases, is not worth the energy savings from the new model. Old houses are greener than new ones. Old cars are greener than new ones. Old windows are greener than new ones. And old appliances are usually greener than new ones. However, there are always exceptions.

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Do the Math, See if it's Time for a New Refrigerator

Appliances should always be recycled or repaired. Look online for organizations that recycle various appliances. In a pinch, try donating your old appliances to your local repair shop or give it away on Craigslist.

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Keeping your appliances free of dust, grime and dirt is the best way to ensure that they will last as long as the possibly can. A dusty appliance is an inefficient one. Keep your appliances clean and they will work more efficiently and longer.

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