One tip that covers all appliances and a great place to start is looking at energy efficiency. Manufactures have become aware of the competitive requirement to produce appliances that are efficient and cheap to run. You have no doubt seen energy efficiency stickers everywhere. From buildings to appliances, energy is everyone’s business these days:
Source: emap
But…. Have you ever paid attention to these stickers and compared?
Appliances receive a lot of attention when it comes to energy ratings. Similar to how someone buying a printer must pay careful attention towards the cost of the ink for that model, the running costs of an appliance should be a factor in your capital expenditure. Pay close attention next time you are shopping for appliances and take the time to work out the difference in operating costs.
Here are some top tips on saving money:
Fridge / Freezer
Perhaps an obvious place to start, a fridge / freezer unit is going to cost you a lot of cash to run. Unlike an iron or a toaster, this appliance is always on and the costs should be considered part of your base energy bills. Where we can save money by switching off lights and limiting the heating, the fridge freezer is slightly different. Here are some top tips:
- Keep it full – keeping air cool uses more energy than maintaining the temperature of it’s contents.
- Size Matters – Be sure to buy a fridge freezer that is an appropriate size for your family as well as one that is energy efficient!
- Let it cool! – Perhaps an obvious one, but let food cool down properly before storing it in the fridge / freezer.
- Defrosting Saves Energy – If you are defrosting something for dinner the next day, pop it in the fridge. Not only does this keep the product fresher, but it saves energy by cooling down the contents of the fridge!
- Check the Seals – Once in a while, check the door seals. They can sometimes become loose which wastes a lot of energy!
Dishwashers
I absolutely love our dishwasher. Call me lazy, but I can think of 100 things I like doing more than washing dishes! Contrary to a fridge/freezer, a dishwasher is only used occasionally – and care should be taken that you don’t run a cycle too often! Here are some top tips:
- Load it Up – I have seen so many of my friends run their dishwashers with only a couple of plates and glasses – and it winds me up so much! An excuse of not having enough plates without washing them is just not good enough – you can buy cheap plates and cutlery (that will quickly pay for themselves).
- Don’t fall for Expensive soaps / tablets – Dishwasher capsules are a marketers dream! Images of sparkling glasses and pure white crockery… the supermarket’s own brand does exactly the same. Check out the ingredients – chances are they are 95% the same! Oh and did I mention they are about a quarter of the price!
- Don’t over-rinse dishes – Modern dishwashers do a superb job of cleaning even the most soiled of plates. If you pre-rinse too much, you are wasting a lot of energy and water.
- Use the Settings – Dishwashers come with a variety of settings – you can vary the temperature, cycle time, drying mode etc. Vary it depending on your load.
Washing Machine / Dryer
I like to think of washing machines and energy efficient tumble dryers as in the same category as dishwashers. While a lot of the same energy saving tips can be applied, consider the following:
- Use Lower Temperature Settings – I can honestly say that I have only ever washed clothes at 30 degrees Celsius in the last year. Just because it is safe to wash a shirt at 60 and your cottons at 40, it doesn’t mean that you need to! Not only does this save a small fortune, but it keeps your clothes in far better condition!
- Load to Capacity – Almost everyone under-loads their washing machine. You can always fill any space with towels or bed sheets to ensure that you get maximum capacity!
- Buy in Bulk – Washing powder is another massively overpriced product. Plastic liquid tabs may look pretty, but they can cost up to ten times the amount of buying powder with a scoop!
- Don’t Add Wet Items to an Almost-Dry Load – otherwise everything else gets wet again! 🙂
- Clear Vents – Vents in washer/dryers quickly become clogged with dust and fluff. This is detrimental to the efficiency of the dry cycle – clean it out!
- Air it Out – Finally, you could do what I do and avoid using a tumble dryer altogether. Sure, we have one (it was a gift), but we have only had it on a handful of times since moving in a year ago! Drying racks and a washing line allow clothes to air naturally and smell a lot fresher!
great tip about defrosting! also, opening once the fridge while you take everything out is better than opening five times since the temperature readjusts every time. the other two appliances I don’t have anymore… that’s the saving!
Yes very good addition.. I hadn’t thought of that but it makes perfect sense! 🙂
A good way to check the seal of the fridge is to place a dollar bill in and shut it. If you can get it out easily it’s time to change the seal.
What a great idea dude! 🙂 I’ll have to make do with using a five pound note 😛
We always wash in cold for darks. Not only does it save money, it also keeps our darks darker for longer. Washing in hot sucks the color out. The only thing I wash in hot is underwear and undershirts.
Great tips.. I agree though underwear is a hotter wash for sure – AND, I am not over sensitive about mixing colours that have been washed before!
Nice tips. You covered just about everything I could think of. Checking seals is a good idea. I haven’t bought new appliances in ages so I probably should do some routine maintenance to keep them in decent shape for a few more years!
Thanks for the kudos! 🙂 routine maintenance is always good… I am told that dusting the cooling elements on the back is a great way to increase longevity!
The tumble dryer is a killer for energy use.
I was at my parents at the weekend, and OK, their house is bigger, but there’s only the 2 of them now, and their energy bill is almost double ours. Our electric has gone up since having a child, (washing machine is on a lot of the time), but we have managed to compensate in other areas. Every time a light bulb goes, we replace it with a more energy efficient one. They’re nearly all flourescent ones now, instead of the old incandescent ones, but now LED ones are being sold, and doing the maths, they appear to be 90% more efficient!!
We also cook in batches. My wife will make a huge amount of bolognese, we’ll have some for tea, and the rest goes in the freezer. It’s much cheaper and more efficient to cook it all in one go. The grocery bill is cheaper too, because we buy in bulk from a wholesaler or similar place, and the heating also goes off when she’s cooking, as it warms the hosue anyway.
There’s a million other things we do, and I’m constantly looking into it. In fact, part of the reason we bought our current washing machine was the “A” energy rating. Given how much my parents’ bills are, it’s obviously paying for itself.
Dude, I agree! I think having a tumble dryer is definitely important for emergencies, but it uses loads of energy! My mums energy bill is almost double ours as well… I think the older generations like to heat rooms more (that are not in use) and leave things on!!
I like the idea of replacing lightbulbs with energy efficient ones as they break… good way to manage the cost. We are both totally with you guys on the cook in bulk and freeze idea… and it keeps the freezer bills down by occupying space 😉
Great tips! I have to add, let the dishes air dry. I do a load in the evening after dinner, and crack the dishwasher open to let the dishes dry while I sleep. Then in the morning quickly put the load away so I have the dishwasher empty for the rest of the days dishes. Saves me tons of money!
Excellent tips! I keep my fridge full at all times–even if it’s with bottles of water and beer…haha 🙂
Great tips. I don’t have anything to add except…have you heard the comedian Brian Regan talk about refrigerator salesmen? Look it up on YouTube. Well worth the time.
I had a fridge freezer that was drawing 4kWh a day – it should be about 1.5kWh p.d. When I worked out I would recover the capital cost in a year and a half I changed that sucker – now I’ve recovered the cost the new one is now paying me rent at 40p a day in savings compared to the do-nothing option 😉
Canada has a similar energy guide system and I personally pay a lot of attention to them! When we bought our washer and dryer a few yrs ago the sales person was really pushing a fancy front loading machine but there was a cheaper top loading set that was cheaper and had a better energy guide reading so we went with it! Especially since these appliances will stay with the house. Our new dishwasher is great too, I love it 🙂
Interesting that you posted about appliances when we just had to replace our electric kettle as it decided to have a small explosion the other night…
We always look for the most efficient appliances when we go shopping for them. Particularly the washing machine as water can be a bit sparse in Australia and so water conservation is high on the priority list.
Great tips! I’ve been guilty of over-rinsing dishes before putting them in dishwasher. It’s sort of like the person who cleans their home before the house cleaner arrives. 🙂 With my girls, I talk about reducing our energy bill by turning off lights, etc so we have more money to “play” with. They think it’s a game and try hard to help us lower our bills, which I appreciate!
Home appliances are became major part of our home and we cant imagine without them . The tips you described according to products are really nice . I was so so much confused with my new front load washer but this tips helps me .
Great stuff ..!!
Thank you for sharing these great points. I just moved in on my own and definitely budgeting my money is essential.