Don't buy another home appliance until you have read this…

Energy efficiency is a key factor to keep in mind when purchasing home appliances. It is usually more cost-effective to purchase household appliances with high efficiency.

An often over looked consideration while buying any home appliance is the manufacturer’s warranty. The longer the warranty, the longer you won’t have to face any unexpected bills.

Don’t be misled by commercials, all appliances break down sometime, even the expensive ones.

Let’s see what one must be careful of when buying an appliance:

1) Dishwashers: When choosing a dishwasher, find out how many gallons of water it uses during different cycles. Look for features that reduce water usage. Newer and more expensive stainless steel models enhance efficiency during drying cycles and can tolerate higher water temperatures, even allowing you to sanitize your dishes.

2) Ovens: Your first decision with an oven should be whether to buy a gas one or an electric. This could be based on your cooking preferences. The decision can also be made between self-cleaning ovens and standard cleaning ovens that you have to clean. Self-cleaning ovens can be programmed to be cleaned.

Gas Ovens:

Electric Ovens:

3) Washing Machines / Dryers: Gas dryers, the machines with a gas pipe sticking out, are considered to be less expensive than electric ones. There are new models in the market with water level controls, large capacity settings and spin cycle adjustment that can help you curb the usage of water. In addition, front-loading models use one-third less energy and water than top loading machines.

Front loading:

Top loading:

4) Refrigerators: As a rule of thumb, plan on purchasing 8 – 10 cubic feet of space for a family of two, then add an additional cubic foot of space for each family member. Refrigerators with freezers on the top are more energy efficient than models with side by side fridge freezers.

Refrigerators with Top Freezers:

Refrigerators with Side Freezers:

5) Ventilation system (Cooktop Ventilation Hoods): The most important thing to consider when purchasing a new ventilation hood is its fan. There are two types of fans: axial, which is rather inexpensive, and centrifugal, which is very powerful. In an axial fan, air flows parallel to the axis of rotation across the propeller and through the fan. In a centrifugal fan, the air makes a 90° turn after it enters the fan wheel.

Hoods with tempered glass light lens are more durable than the plastic lens, which yellow and crack and they last longer.

You must also consider buying one with a low sone number. A sone number measures the amount of noise created by an air-moving appliance. The lower the sone number is, the quieter the rangehood.

6) Hot water heaters: Look for hot water heaters which are energy efficient. Look for a label that gives you 2 important pieces of information when you are comparing different brands and models: estimated energy consumption and estimated yearly operating costs. Use this information to determine which models are most energy efficient. Energy efficient appliances can cost more, but will save money and protect the environment over time.

Water Heaters:

Tank size or capacity refers to the amount of water, in gallons, that the water heater will hold. Your tank size will depend on whether you need hot gallons of water every hour. If you do, then you may need a larger tank. Large capacity water heaters are also more expensive to operate because they require more energy to heat the large amount of water.

Tankless water heating systems do not store heated water; instead the water is heated instantly on demand. Tankless water systems are powered by either electricity or gas and can be turned off when not in use. These heaters are more efficient than conventional types but have trouble supplying large amount of hot water at any one time.

Tankless Water Heaters:

If you plan on installing these, then you may probably have to drop the plan of taking a shower and running the dishwasher at the same time.

7) Room air conditioners: Before you go shopping for an air conditioner, ask yourself a few key questions to find the right one for you: How big is the room? Is it important that the whole room is cooled? Is there variable weather? Am I on a budget? Do I move a lot from one room to another? The answers to these will help you find a suitable one as per your needs.

Also, find out about its Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER). The EER range from a minimum of 8 to 12 numbers. You will have to look for high EER numbers if you need a more efficient one.

Hope these tips were of help. Do you have any other suggestions that could help out a crowd of consumers out there??