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 Energy Star Appliances
Help Consumers and Environment
Auburn,
March 15,2003---Energy Star-labeled appliances save consumers
money and use less electricity and water than other appliances, says
Barbara Mobley, an Extension money management specialist.
The
Energy Star rating label may be found on clothes washers,
refrigerators, dishwashers and room air-conditioners. An appliance
receives the Energy Star rating if it is significantly more energy
efficient than the minimum federal standards. Some Energy Star
appliances exceed the minimum standards by as much as 20 percent.
“Although Energy Star models sometimes cost more to purchase
initially, any extra up-front costs can often be made up with
savings on utility bills,” Mobley says.
Energy Star clothes washers use superior designs that require less
water to get clothes thoroughly clean. These machines use sensors
to match the hot water needs to the load, preventing energy waste.
The savings include using 30 to 40 percent less energy per load,
less wear and tear on clothes and better water extraction, meaning
less dryer time.
A
typical household does nearly 400 loads of laundry a year, using
about 40 gallons of water per full load with a conventional washer.
In contrast, a full size Energy Star washer uses 20 to 25 gallons
per load. Consumers could save as much as 7,000 gallons of water
per year. In addition, the savings of all the energy that would
have been needed to heat the water, adds up to savings for the
consumer and the environment.
The
refrigerator is the single biggest power consumer in most
households. A typical refrigerator made around 1990 uses about 900
kilowatt hours per year – that’s the same amount of energy you would
use by leaving a 1,250 watt hair dryer on for a month! And the
older a refrigerator is, the more power it burns.
Energy Star
refrigerator manufacturers use a number of advanced features to save
energy such as better insulation, more efficient compressors,
improved heat transfer surfaces, and more precise temperature and
defrost mechanisms.
Energy Star
dishwashers save by using improved technology for the primary wash
cycle and less hot water to clean. Construction includes
energy-efficient motors and other advance technology such as sensors
that determine the length of the washing cycle and the temperature
of the water necessary to clean the dishes.
Air-conditioners with Energy Star feature high efficiency
compressors, fan motors and heat transfer surfaces.
In an
air-conditioner, the air is cooled when it passes over the
refrigerant coils, which have fins, similar to an automobile
radiator. The compressor sends the cooled refrigerant through the
coils, and air cools as it is forced over the coils. By using
advanced heat transfer technologies, more of the heat from the air
is transferred into the coils than in conventional models, saving
energy required to compress the refrigerant.
It is
important to buy an air-conditioner that is the correct size for the
room, Mobley says. Air-conditioners remove heat and humidity from
the air. Humidity is removed when the air in a room passes over the
cooling coils of an air conditioner. If the unit is too large, it
will cool the room quickly but only remove a portion of the
humidity. This leaves the room with a damp, clammy feeling, since
the air will not have circulated enough. A properly sized unit will
remove humidity effectively as it cools. Running a smaller unit for
a longer time will use less energy to completely condition a room
than running a larger unit for a shorter time.
Energy Star appliances are carried by retailers nationwide, says
Mobley.
Source:
Barbara Mobley, a Money
Management Specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
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