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Home::Home Accessories
Home appliances, Select them on Price or Energy Efficiency?
Author : Hans Dekker
For many people, price is the most important consideration when
buying appliances. What they forget, however, is that there are
two prices for anything which consumes power, the buying price
and the running price. Buying appliances with energy efficiency
in mind may cost more up front but save you money in the long
run.
Most modern appliances like refrigerators and washing machines
carry a label indicating their energy efficiency. Products which
use the least amount of power are qualified to use the "Energy
Star" label. This is a government backed program aimed at
providing consumers and businesses information about saving
energy.
In order to be labelled ,energy efficient, a product must meet
certain criteria. For example, refrigerators must use 15% less
electricity than the minimum standard set by the federal
government. Office equipment must automatically switch to a
low-power sleep mode after a certain period of inactivity.
Almost every major appliance such as air conditioners, freezers,
furnaces, and pool heaters qualify for the Energy Star label.
Buying an Energy Star product will save you money on your
utility bills and will be better for the environment. Using less
electricity in the home means less fossil fuel consumed by power
producing plants, and less greenhouse gas emissions.
Will an energy efficient product save you money? Absolutely!
Each product has a label which says how much energy it consumes.
You can use this information to figure out exactly how much
power you will save over the life span of the appliance. Factor
in rising energy costs and your savings are even more. The
energy efficiency of any product is dependent on the engineering
of the various parts that use power. For example, an air
conditioner has a circulation pump, a fan, and a motor to turn
the blades, as well as electronic components for controlling the
temperature. Each one of these can be designed to save energy,
so the overall energy efficiency is affected by the quality of
these components.
Some local governments offer incentives for people to buy energy
efficient products. Be sure to get informed - you may qualify
for rebates or low interest loans to purchase these items.
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