How to Save Money (and Energy) with Your Home Appliances

Your home’s appliances are what help you and your family get through your every day lives. Whether it be keeping your food cold so it doesn’t spoil, washing your dishes or your clothes, or cooking your food, it’s hard to deny the importance of appliances. However, one large issue with your home appliances are that they are nearly always consuming large amounts of energy, especially your refrigerator because it never shuts off. But rest assured, there are ways that you can save money when using your appliances that won’t change much of your day to day lives.

Starting with your refrigerator, arguably the most important home appliance, one important item is to make sure that the ice build up in your freezer never exceeds 1/4 of an inch, as this can affect the efficiency of your freezer. Make sure that your defrost your freezer when the ice build up nears one fourth of an inch. Additionally, did you know that a well-stocked fridge requires less energy consumption than a nearly empty refrigerator? Because your refrigerator maintains a more stable temperature with a stocked refrigerator, every time you open your refrigerator door your refrigerator will require less energy to regulate the temperature.

Another important home appliance is your dishwasher. It’s important to remember that your home’s dishwasher uses the same amount of water for every load of dishes (though this can also be changed depending on what features or settings your dishwasher has). Make sure that whenever you run your dishwasher, you are running a full load. Additionally, consider letting your dishes air dry rather than drying in the dishwasher.

On to the next home appliance, the oven. When cooking inside your oven, try not to open the door to the oven, as this can sometimes disrupt the cooking process but also requires your oven to consume more energy to regulate its temperature. Another great tip is to use your microwave in place of your oven whenever possible. Your oven uses a lot more energy than a microwave.

The final home appliance worth mentioning is your washer and dryer. With your dryer, it is always important to clean out the lint catch between loads. Not cleaning out your lint catch can allow your dryer to require more energy while running, but can also pose as a safety hazard as well. With your washer, any time you wash clothes with warm water, that water requires energy to heat. A good tip is to use cold water whenever possible.

A great tip for all home appliances is that whenever you are looking to replace an appliance, consider investing into an Energy Star certified appliance. These specific appliances receive the government’s seal of approval as an energy saving home appliance and will help reduce your home’s energy costs.