You should be aware that various electrical appliances around your home consume around 30% of your monthly electricity bill’s total cost. That’s why more and more manufacturers and governments encourage consumers to switch to energy-efficient products.
Lights would be a good basic example of a regular and widespread home energy consumer that we can keep in check by switching to energy-efficient LEDs. Other common home appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, and so on that are over ten years old are big spenders because they were built using outdated technology.
That’s why you need to consider making the switch – not only will your bills go down dramatically, but you’ll also be investing in a more environmentally friendly household. Let’s look at some of the finer points of energy efficiency and the steps you can take to reach this goal.
What is energy efficiency?
What do we mean when we say that an appliance is energy-efficient? Simply put, it means that the overall energy used to make the appliance work (clean, spin, heat, cool, etc.) is lower. There are a number of ways manufacturers ensure that their devices don’t use up a lot of electricity.
Let’s now take a closer look at what you should pay attention to when buying an energy-efficient appliance for your house.
Our 5 tips for buying energy-efficient products
1. Choose the right size – Yes, the size of appliances does matter. For example, if you get an air conditioning unit that is too small for the room it’s installed in, it will need to work for longer periods to compensate. On the other hand, getting a device that is too powerful for the task will also lead to energy waste. So it’s important to look for the right device for the job;
2. Choose appliances that have settings for energy-saving – If your device has an “eco” setting, you can be sure it will save energy. To expand on our previous example, an energy-efficient AC will do wonders to reduce the monthly total you pay for electricity;
3. Look for two price tags – Each appliance will have a “hidden” tag that shows the estimated cost of operation during its lifetime. The lower the number, the more energy-efficient the device is;
4. Don’t think that design is everything – Extra features appliances have, like an ice-maker on a refrigerator, though attractive, actually consume more energy;
5. EnergyGuide labels matter – If you are keen on improving the energy efficiency of your home, you must understand how to read the EnergyGuide labels, which are mandatory on all new devices.
Energy efficient and smart appliances are worth the investment
Smart appliances are great for conserving energy since you can schedule when they turn on and off removing the factor of human negligence. They also allow you to use programs that work for your specific situation, making it easier to use them responsibly.
Of course, devices designed to conserve energy should also be a priority and it may take you some time to replace all the old, inefficient ones with energy-efficient products, but it will pay off in the long run since your bills will be significantly lower.
Call (781) 309-7540 or contact us to get started with a no-cost Mass Save® home energy assessment.