Tips for Purchasing New Appliances

Posted: May 1, 2018 at 7:00 am

Make, Model, Capacity – Oh My!

By Paul Wesslund

The Sloboda family needed a new refrigerator so Brian volunteered to do the shopping. After all, he’s a national expert on electric appliances.

He came home frustrated. There were just too many choices, even for the guy whose job title is Program and Product Line Manager for Energy Utilization, Delivery and Energy Efficiency at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

“Just buy whatever you want,” he told his wife.

He finally got to use his in-depth knowledge when he looked over the model that Sami Jo brought home.

“Why didn’t you get the version that has a camera inside, so you can use your smartphone in the grocery store to see if we need more milk?” he asked.

“Because it costs $500 more,” she said. That, said Brian, was a good reason.

That’s the kind of reasoning we’re all going to be doing in the coming months and years as we grapple with the newest trend in appliances—connection to the internet.

“The number one problem for homeowners is trying to determine which of the things actually presents value,” says Sloboda. For example, when you’re on vacation you can use your smartphone to check whether you’ve left the oven on or the garage door open.

Sounds nice, but is it worth it?

“There’s a Crock Pot® app,” he says. “Does that have value to you? It might if you use a Crock Pot® a lot.”

“There are infinite possibilities,” says Sloboda. “They sound nice when you first hear about them, but you have to remember you are paying more for those features.”

Web-connected appliances could also offer online diagnostics. There might not be strong everyday reasons for a washing machine to be hooked into cyberspace, but if it broke, the manufacturer could log in to figure out what’s wrong. That could help decide the best way to repair or replace the equipment. But is it worth the extra cost?

“It’s a good feature,” says Sloboda, “but one you’re only going to use when the appliance breaks.”

If you’re longing for lower-tech help in decision-making, look to the yellow and black U.S. Department of Energy’s EnergyGuide label on each appliance.

“It’s one of the single greatest pieces of information that you can find when you buy an appliance,” says Sloboda.

He says the most useful info is the big dollar figure right in the middle of the label, showing what it will cost to use that appliance for a year.

Sloboda cautions that the number doesn’t tell you exactly what you will pay because it doesn’t use your local utility’s kilowatt hour rate. But it’s a perfect way to compare appliances because every appliance’s label is based on the same national average electric rate.

“You can stand in that aisle looking at all the washing machines, and you can scan the entire row and narrow your options down from a dozen,” says Sloboda, “down to the three or four that use the least amount of money.”

Taking charge of your appliances

Other especially useful parts of the label, he says, include the lower right corner—if you see an Energy Star logo it means the appliance will use less energy than one without. He also singles out the upper right corner that lists the manufacturer and model number, which you can use for more detailed comparisons with other models.

Sloboda also advises to pay attention to the age of your major energy-using appliances. In addition to dramatic energy efficiency advances over the past several years, motors start degrading in refrigerators and in heating and air conditioning systems. He says to consider upgrading air conditioners and heat pumps older than 10 years, and refrigerators older than eight years.

The Department of Energy offers a handy way to check whether it’s time to replace your refrigerator: visit the EnergyStar.gov website and in the search box type “flip your fridge calculator.” You’ll find a link to a page where you can enter your type of refrigerator and its age to calculate how much you’d save buying a new one.

Paul Wesslund writes on cooperative issues for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service arm of the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.

When to replace your refrigerator

The Department of Energy offers a handy way to check whether it’s time to replace your refrigerator: visit the EnergyStar.gov website and in the search box type “flip your fridge calculator.” You’ll find a link to a page where you can enter your type of refrigerator and its age to calculate how much you’d save buying a new one.

Understanding the ENERGYGUIDE Label

The ENERGYGUIDE label is a great tool that helps consumers compare the energy use and costs of new appliances. Use the sample below to better understand how to use the information found on the label.