Did you know that energy bills account for most of our household expenditures? Close to 30% of our monthly bills go to electricity bills, and some homes spend more than that. Generating electricity is not easy, and this process also comes with serious environmental concerns. That’s why the government and organizations are urging homeowners to adopt energy-saving practices as well as appliances.
Because of this, we’ve started to see most appliance manufacturers coming up with energy-efficient appliances. Initially, these appliances were a bit costly, but today they’ve become affordable. However, some people have a challenge in using energy-efficient appliances.
How Does An Energy-Efficient Appliance Function?
The design of energy-efficient appliances allows them to utilize the lowest energy when completing their desired tasks. Other appliances utilize renewable energy sources like water and solar power. These appliances can maximize a small amount of energy to the required one for them to function normally.
Common examples of energy-efficient appliances include booster water heaters, solar water heater, and energy saver bulbs. The design of these appliances allows them to operate under low energy and temperature settings, and this can sustain their operations until they complete their tasks.
Most manufacturers of energy-efficient appliances have been offering free advice to buyers on how energy-efficient appliances assist in saving energy. This, in turn, assists consumers to know the appliances that they need, and also how to use them.
The Benefits of Energy-Efficient Appliances
Energy savings
One notable thing about energy-efficient appliances is that they don’t consume a lot of energy when running. That means, these appliances will save you a lot of energy, and you can use that energy to accomplish different tasks in your home.
Saves you money
The energy consumption in your home or office is directly related to the energy bills in your home. When you use energy-efficient appliances, the energy consumption in your home will significantly reduce, and this will translate to reduced energy bills. According to experts from Hartman’s Tampa Appliance Repair, appliances with energy star ratings can save you up to 30% of your energy bill.
However, it’s important to note that you should couple this other energy-efficient practices in your home for you to save money on your energy bills. Some of these practices include:
Replacing your ordinary bulbs – replace your incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs. This can assist in lowering your electricity bills by up to 80%.
Observing best practices – consider washing your clothes with cold water. Also, hang your clothes to dry instead of using your dryer. Lastly, avoid overloading your appliances, as this can make them overwork, thus consume a lot of energy.
Improved quality of life
When you use energy-efficient appliances, you will notice that there’s an improvement in the quality of life in your home. Furthermore, you will start to notice positive health benefits. Some of the notable changes you’ll see are your home becoming drier, warmer, and well ventilated.
This, in turn, reduces the risks of mold growth and illnesses. Using energy-efficient appliances also reduces the chances of indoor pollutants growing, which is a major concern in many families. Moreover, you will also start enjoying some financial benefits, since you will not spend too much on your energy bills. At the end of the day, you will live a stress-free life because of owning energy-efficient appliances.
Great ROI
Some people argue that buying an energy-efficient appliance is an unnecessary expense. However, you should be your argument too. Always consider your energy-efficient appliances to be an investment.
One thing with utility bills is that they accumulate over time. Now, if you own an energy-efficient appliance, you will realize that your overall utility bills are lower compared to an ordinary appliance. Moreover, the returns you get from these appliances will keep on increasing, especially with the increasing energy prices.
They assist in preventing greenhouse emissions
In recent years, there has been an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. These gases are directly responsible for global warming, as well as climate change. Greenhouse gases absorb the infrared radiation, and this leads to trapped heat in the atmosphere. This, in turn, increases the temperature on the earth’s surface.
To generate electricity, most countries burn fossil fuels like coal and diesel. The combustion of fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide, which also acts as an insulation layer. This layer allows solar radiation to get into the atmosphere but prevents it from getting out of the atmosphere.
The trapped solar radiation, in turn, leads to climate change and global warming. Therefore, using energy-efficient appliances means that you will use less energy, and this will also lower greenhouse gas emissions, as well as assist in protecting the environment.
Tips for buying an energy-efficient appliance
Appliances with high energy efficiency have less operating costs. But, how do you make sure that you choose an appliance that won’t cost you a lot of money to operate?
The following a few tips to guide you when searching for an energy-efficient appliance.
- Choose the best style and size – before buying the appliance, measure the area where it will be installed, as this will make sure that the new appliance will fit in well. Also, check to see if there is enough space to open the door fully, as well as enough space for ventilation.
- Check the purchase price, as well as anticipated energy consumption when choosing the brand and model you want to purchase. Mostly, you will realize that brands and models with high energy efficiency are costly, but these appliances will save you money in the long run.
- Ask where there are any special offers on energy-efficient appliances – at times, low-interest loans, cash rebates, as well as other incentive programs are offered to motivate buyers to buy energy-efficient appliances. To see if there are any rebates in your area, you can use the Rebate Locator by Energy star. You can find the locator under the products section of the website, and you can search your zip code using the locator.
- Carefully ready the energy guide label on the appliance – new appliances have this black and yellow label attached to them. This label should give you information about the estimated annual energy consumption. Make sure that you read this label, as it will assist you to do a comparison of the annual energy consumption or efficiency with similar models and competing brands.
- Make sure that the appliance has the Energy Star Logo – any appliance with an Energy Star logo is considerably more energy-efficient compared to the models. Therefore, you should make sure that you get an appliance with this logo if you are looking to cut down your energy bills significantly.
