 How would you feel if ¼ of your household electricity consumption walked out the door in the form of one appliance?
Hooray! That’s what I felt. Men from the “Great Refrigerator Roundup” program in my municipality picked up my old still-operating chest freezer and took it away for recycling.
 It is time for us to identify the major energy culprits. A colleague of mine takes issue with our focus on tiny culprits like cell phone charger phantom loads, while we ignore the big energy-draw items!
I bake my own bread and purchase organic flour in bulk, which I stored in this 30 year old freezer. Lately, I noticed that the freezer compressor was running all the time!
I replaced the 23 cubic foot freezer with a fairly new 6 cuft freezer (293 kwh/yr) + a  new 18 cuft refrigerator (335 kwh/yr). Both new appliances are Energy Star rated, so they are very energy efficient when compared to other models in their size class. Still, why would I replace a freezer that still operates?
I have calculated what I am recycling and I am shocked! The old freezer consumed 3,022 kwh/yr. I multiplied running (not start-up) amps times volts to obtain 345 watts. That is comparable to burning nearly six 60-watt light bulbs all the time!
This translates into a net power saving on new versus old, of 79%!!! That is an annual net savings on my electricity bill of $203/yr. My new frig will be paid back in 3 years, and sooner if power rates rise!
 When appliance shopping, look for the Energy Star certification and choose the model with at or near the lowest EnerGuide rating. Hopefully your municipality has a program that allows you to recycle the old appliance and keep it out of landfill. Refrigerant coolants need to be expertly drained and disposed to avoid leaking CFCs into the atmosphere. CFCs are a significant contributor to GHG(greenhouse gas). Each wise choice we make does make a difference for all of us.
What big ways have you found to save electricity and help the environment? |
