Save a few bucks off your electricity bill by investing in efficient, Energy Star-certified appliances. A chief benefit of taking this leap is protecting the planet, so we wouldn’t wait too long! In the meantime, here are some tips everyone can adopt to save appliance energy in our day-to-day use.
Staying warm and comfortable in winter doesn’t need to be expensive. Top ways to save on energy bills.
Refrigerator Sometimes, we gotta spend a little to save a lot. This is the case when it comes to curbing energy use for most refrigerators. Since it comes down to limiting the number of times you open your fridge and freezer doors to preserve the interior temperature, we’d suggest investing in a glass-door model so that you can easily check if you need to add eggs to your shopping list.
If you’re feeling particularly generous toward the heart of your home, you might opt for a smart fridge that comes with an interior camera from which you can have a live look at your refrigerator from your smartphone while you’re at the grocery store!
Instead of putting last night’s lasagna back in the oven or that leftover gumbo over the stove, we’d advise you to use a toaster oven or a microwave to heat up your meals. After all, these countertop appliances use less energy than conventional electric and gas ranges.
And if you’re an impatient baker, we’d like to remind you to keep the oven door closed as you’re waiting for your brownies to be done. The internal temperature can drop by as many as 25 degrees each time you open the door, so just use the oven light to get a good look at your dessert! And if you’re whipping up something delicious on your cooktop, put a lid on it and try to keep it on as much as possible.
Dishwasher
Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it, so be sure to only leave the job to your dishwasher if you’ve got a full load of dinnerware to clean. Keeping with the theme of saving water, we’d also avoid using the rinse hold setting on your dishwasher, as this feature uses up to 7 times more gallons of hot water per use!
Plus, did you know that air drying your washed dishes on a rack instead of running them through your dishwasher’s drying cycle can cut your appliance’s energy use by 15–50 percent?
Washer
As is the case with dishwashers, wash only full loads of laundry to use up less water. In addition, we recommend washing clothes in cold water year-round, which could end up saving you around 60 dollars annually. While it is said that some laundry detergents work best in warm water, most of today’s detergents work just as well in cooler water.
As an added bonus: washing your winter knits in cold water is likely to cause less fraying, meaning you can enjoy your favorite sweater longer!
Dryer
We promise you these energy-saving tips won’t leave you high and dry. To prevent snags and pilling in your flannel sheets, clean your dryer’s lint filter regularly to keep your appliance running efficiently. The same goes for the tubing! Run the long nozzle of your vacuum cleaner down it to clean out pesky particles that snuck their way past the lint filter.
And of course, air dry whenever possible! While the winter chill and sporadic showers make hanging your laundry outside a hard sell, there are drying racks or vinyl-top tables you can use to sprawl out your damp laundry.
Lastly, remember to use your home energy monitor to help you understand which appliances are using the most electricity, and don’t forget to swing by our store to check out our wide array of energy-efficient appliances! Would you like more energy-saving tips? We’ve got you covered there, too.
