Energy Efficient Appliances? No Thanks

I do all I can to reduce my carbon footprint: I take canvas bags with me to the supermarket to avoid using plastic, eschew bottled water and do my best to eat organic produce when I can. At home, I have traded all of my incandescent bulbs for CFLs and I keep the thermostat set at 68 degrees.

So you might be surprised to learn that I haven't filled my kitchen with energy efficient appliances to replace the standard ones I picked out at the home improvement superstore several years ago.

Sure, many eco-conscious folks out there feel strongly about the benefit of the new refrigerators, dish washers or washing machines that carry the blue Energy Star logos. Here's the thing: I am not one of them.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to Energy Star-certified appliances. I think the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, launched in 1992 to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through more efficient energy use, is an excellent idea and one that offers enormous benefits. In 2008 alone, Energy Star helped Americans save $18 billion on their energy bills.

But when it comes to appliances, only some of us need to take action -- like families who own avocado-colored refrigerators that have been running since the Reagan era, or homeowners whose 1920s bungalows are devoid of dishwashers. For the rest of us trading up new-ish appliances that are in good working order isn't all that efficient at all.

The EPA agrees with me. The program was never meant to encourage people to trade in their newer appliances for the latest models. "It's not the EPA's goal to tell people to throw out a three-year-old refrigerator. The jump in energy efficiency [by trading up to an Energy Star model] isn't worth it," explains Maria Vargas, spokesperson for the EPA's Energy Star program. "Our basic rule of thumb is that if an appliance is more than 15 years old, it's time to think about replacing it."



Even the statistics pointing to the energy savings of certified appliances compare current Energy Star models to ones that were manufactured more than a decade ago. And according to the National Resources Defense Council, the newest energy efficient refrigerators -- including those that are not Energy Star certified -- consume 75 percent less energy than models made in the 1970s. And let's face it, most homeowners aren't still using appliances that date back to the Vietnam War. Those who are should definitely upgrade to appliances with the Energy Star logo.

Yet being green is often confused with being on top of the trends and too often shoppers respond by racing out to purchase newer, shinier models of things they already own all in the name of upgrading for energy efficiency. If you're similarly inspired, remember that of the three Rs, the first is Reduce, which means not buying something you don't need even if it's in the name of using less energy.

And then there's the hype. While there's no question that Energy Star-certified appliances are the most efficient models available to consumers today, the savings that we're supposed to benefit from might not be as significant as we're lead to believe. According to the EPA, replacing a dishwasher manufactured before 1994 with an Energy Star model will save $25 per year on utility costs. That's just over $2 per month -- less than the cost of one Grande Caramel Frappuccino at Starbucks. If you do the math, you'll realize that before the cost of the new lipstick-red front-loader is recouped, most people will have upgraded to (another) brand new model.

Oft-touted statistics on energy savings don't take into account the resources required to manufacture new appliances. They don't expand on the waste generated from packaging and the carbon footprint associated with transporting a shipment of 200-pound washing machines across the ocean, or the energy it takes to have used appliances hauled to recycling centers where refrigerants like Freon and chlorofluorocarbons must be removed and disposed of in an environmentally-responsible way before the metal is recycled.

"Replacing appliances is one of the first things people think of to reduce their energy consumption because it's the most visible," Vargas notes. "To put it in perspective, appliances account for just 13 percent of the average energy bill and heating and cooling account for 50 percent." In other words, replacing appliances is not the most environmentally-friendly choice you can make. Homeowners who, like me, own appliances that were made post-1995, have better alternatives for saving energy: Make a point of running the dishwasher only when it's full, use the cold water setting on the washing machine and turn the lights off when you leave the room.

If I'm given the choice to upgrade to an Energy Star-certified front-loading washing machine that uses a few kWh less energy than the one I currently own, I'll rather take the extra money and put it towards signing up for green power through my utility company and writing a check to my favorite environmental charities. When it comes to saving energy, I think I'm making the better choice.

Jodi Helmer is the author of The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference (Alpha, 2008).



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