Call me a late adopter, but did you know that you can calculate how much juice your old appliance is costing you on EnergyStar.gov? Their handy calculator lets you see how many dollars you can save by upgrading a refrigerator or freezer and how much you can reduce your bill if you unplug an extra fridge or freezer. Cool!
All you need to know is the approximate year your model was made, the capacity (in cubic feet), and the general shape of the appliance. Or you can plug in the model number. They also have a link to your state’s average electricity price in case you are too lazy to dig out your utility bill. How practical.
The numbers are convincing. For instance, if your fridge was made before 1980 and cools 19-21 cubic feet, you could save $1,005 over five years by upgrading. The calculator says your old clunker costs $246 a year to run, but an Energy Star qualified fridge costs just $45 a year to run. That’s $201 cheaper per year!
If you are running a second freezer, you could unplug it and save $174 a year. (That’s for a 19-21 cubic foot freezer made before 1980.) Both calculations are using the average national price of $.11 per kilowatt hour. Of course, if you unplug your extra freezer you have less space to be a freezer diva, which has many money-saving attributes.)
