Energy Star Appliances

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We have to buy fridge/washer/dryer/microwave/dishwasher for house move.

The energy star appliances are more expensive but I have no idea if they pay for themselves over time? And what makes them energy star?

Advice/recommendations.
 
Think the stickers on them give you some guess at the energy savings ?

Why are they more energy efficient ? My guess is better engineering & maybe design . Also , maybe better materials .
 
A fridge/freezer probably has better insulation. A washer/dishwasher is probably stingier with water. A dryer/microwave may generate less heat in exchange for longer cycles.
 
I bought an Energy Star rated Dehumidifyier and my Electric Bill went DOWN.
I bought an Energy Star rated Refrigerator and my Electric Bill went DOWN.

You may pay more, but you'll get that money back in electric savings.
Just like LED light bulbs.
 
We had whirlpool energy star front load washer and though it might have saved water and electricity that bit of cost savings was more than than offset by repairs that started right after the warranty was over. Replaced computer board and then a few months later the pump. Then a few month s later the dryer computer would have been $280.00 to replace.
Chucked them both and bought the cheapest washer and dryer combo we could which was the simple white top load Roper washer and dryer with veterans discount they were about $450 for the pair delivered. Not energy star and they do not have the fancy computer and 30 different wash, fabric and temp settings, but it has hot, cold, warm , heavy duty, regular and gentle cycle and that is enough, The dryer is simple as well hot, warm and cool dry and a no heat air dry and that is enough. IMO the less fancy bells and whistles that are these appliances the better. The simpler are also more reliable and much cheaper to repair if they do break. In our case the energy star savings were minimal at best. Plus here in Nebraska the LES electric company executives ( who are already making 100K plus) vote themselves a big raise almost every year anyway whether you try and save energy or not. For the record our whirlpool Fridge is energy star and has ran great for about 16 years now. The icemaker broke at about year 4 but we do use it anyway so never blew any money on fixing it.
 
an efficient dishwasher is great just realize they have a normal setting that uses tons less energy, and usually a sanitize setting that cleans way better but uses more water and energy.

If I turn off added heat, steam, and heated dry and run normal it uses less than 25% of the power of the sanitize setting with all those on.

But I like clean dishes so usually its the sanitize cycle with added heat option.

Now a fridge esp. can be a huge energy saver.. however many of the newer ones with the "inverter compressor" are not durable.
Just in the extended family about 5-6 of them all costing $2000 or over.. only 1 lasted 5 years.. they might be better now.

Whatever brand you buy make sure there is a repair center near you.
For example the nearest electrolux repair company is 35miles away and they wont come to the house.(what a relative found out)
 
Originally Posted By: MasterSolenoid
I bought an Energy Star rated Dehumidifyier and my Electric Bill went DOWN.
I bought an Energy Star rated Refrigerator and my Electric Bill went DOWN.

You may pay more, but you'll get that money back in electric savings.
Just like LED light bulbs.

You have to weigh how much you will save vs how much more you pay. Some of the break even times will be about as long or longer than the life of the product. Something like a fridge would make more sense to spend more on since it runs 24/7. Different for every person depending on the lifestyle. When I looked some of the energy star appliances used a negligible amount of energy less than a regular one, but they charge a lot for the sticker.
 
Buy a one-month subscription to ConsumerReports. Review all prospective appliances and buy based on those, I've had great luck. However, regardless of the rating, I will likely never buy another Samsung washer or dryer, and definitely no Samsung refrigerator, microwave, or oven. My brand new Samsung washer was about 35 days old when the main board failed. Sure, it was repaired under warranty, but they didn't reimburse me for the pain and suffering I had while listening to my wife complain for 9 days until the board came in and they installed it! My last Samsung washer and dryer each had significant failures, two pump failures on the washer, and the heating element on the dryer. Thanks to YouTube and Amazon, I made those repairs in about an hour each, and for about a tenth of what a service call would have cost.

My friends have had numerous failures of their Samsung kitchen appliances. As a general statement (no known caveats), I personally have had great success with Kenmore Elite appliances regardless of their use. Just as all things, you get what you pay for, and YMMV
smile.gif
 
Energy saving, water saving washing machines suck. Worst move I made was buying one, after three botched attempts at fixing it my patients wore thin and its gone now. Garbage.
 
From my experiences and a friend who is an appliance repair person, do not buy any appliance from an "electronic company" like samsung or LG. If something fails, the support is not there and replacement parts are difficult to come by.

Stick with Maytag, Whirlpool, Electrolux (Frigidaire) and the private label brands those companies make.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
an efficient dishwasher is great just realize they have a normal setting that uses tons less energy, and usually a sanitize setting that cleans way better but uses more water and energy.

If I turn off added heat, steam, and heated dry and run normal it uses less than 25% of the power of the sanitize setting with all those on.

But I like clean dishes so usually its the sanitize cycle with added heat option.

Now a fridge esp. can be a huge energy saver.. however many of the newer ones with the "inverter compressor" are not durable.
Just in the extended family about 5-6 of them all costing $2000 or over.. only 1 lasted 5 years.. they might be better now.

Whatever brand you buy make sure there is a repair center near you.
For example the nearest electrolux repair company is 35miles away and they wont come to the house.(what a relative found out)


As for the fridge , the compressor / inverter technology is also used in mini split heat pump / A/C units . And slowly being introduced into the traditional residential split HVAC systems .

The mini split in our bedroom has an inverter compressor & it is great . But not 5 years old , yet .

If you are concerned about the newest technology , purchase the bottom dollar equipment that has that technology . If it does prove problamatic , you have not droppes as much cash . Also , consider service policies .
 
My wife claims that clothes are much cleaner with our $250.00 Roper top loader than they ever were with our fancy $600.00 whirlpool front loading money pit. Do not need all those high priced fancy bells and whistles and computers just to wash some clothes. Those front loaders use less water but the top loaders clean better because they use more water and they spin the clothes faster. Our cloths are almost dry just coming out of the roper spin cycle, where as our fancy whirlpool left the clothes wet. Plus the door seals had a tendency to leak. We had the door seal replased twice while on warranty and ended up spending $120.00 to replace it after the warranty was over. So glad we chucked that Whirlpool hulk to the curb. Give me the simple old fashioned top loading Roper any day. Our Roper washer and dryer clean and dry the cloths well without the high price and unreliability.
 
Originally Posted By: BJD78
We had whirlpool energy star front load washer and though it might have saved water and electricity that bit of cost savings was more than than offset by repairs that started right after the warranty was over. Replaced computer board and then a few months later the pump. Then a few month s later the dryer computer would have been $280.00 to replace.
Chucked them both and bought the cheapest washer and dryer combo we could which was the simple white top load Roper washer and dryer with veterans discount they were about $450 for the pair delivered. Not energy star and they do not have the fancy computer and 30 different wash, fabric and temp settings, but it has hot, cold, warm , heavy duty, regular and gentle cycle and that is enough, The dryer is simple as well hot, warm and cool dry and a no heat air dry and that is enough. IMO the less fancy bells and whistles that are these appliances the better. The simpler are also more reliable and much cheaper to repair if they do break. In our case the energy star savings were minimal at best. Plus here in Nebraska the LES electric company executives ( who are already making 100K plus) vote themselves a big raise almost every year anyway whether you try and save energy or not. For the record our whirlpool Fridge is energy star and has ran great for about 16 years now. The icemaker broke at about year 4 but we do use it anyway so never blew any money on fixing it.


I agree 100% . Keep It Simple Stupid . I have no need for all those expensive whistles & bells .

Buy it cheap & if it does turn into a lemon , you have less into it . If you end up needing to dump it .
 
Check with your local utilities company. Sometimes rebates are available for the energy star appliances. LG also has package rebates
when your buying that many appliances. Lowes runs some decent sales online.
 
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
My brand new Samsung washer was about 35 days old when the main board failed. Sure, it was repaired under warranty, but they didn't reimburse me for the pain and suffering I had while listening to my wife complain for 9 days until the board came in and they installed it!


Yeah, but that was self inflicted, you picked her. Unless Samsung picked her out, I wouldn't expect them to do anything for you.
 
In an amazing thing (to me anyway ) our Speed Queen washer had a 5 year warranty with the electronic controls vs a 3 year warranty with the old school mechanical timer. Go figure. Alas I can no longer recommend the newest SQ as they redesigned it and it’s no longer the monster we know and love. Plenty of YouTube videos to prove it. Glad I got the one of last of the good ones.
There is hope though, as Maytag has stepped up to the plate and their MVWP575GW appears to be very good washer per YouTube testimonials.
Bottom line: excepting refrigerators, if it’s energy or resource conserving it’s probably junk. This coming from a man who threw out 2 paper weight washing machines......

PS:eek:ur Speed Queen washer uses so much less detergent to get things done, it’ll pay for itself in a couple of years. Name brand detergents are expen$ive and both of my paper weights had to have lots of them to even hope to get things clean.
 
Originally Posted By: bruckus
Check with your local utilities company. Sometimes rebates are available for the energy star appliances. LG also has package rebates
when your buying that many appliances. Lowes runs some decent sales online.



This. Also some manufacturers like LG use inverter technology which uses a lot less electricity.
 
Appliances are no mystery - you either spend the money for the good stuff up front, or you pay as you go.

As for efficiency - usually that comes at the expense of longer cycle times - usually.

With the clothes washers - The savings in water and soap are meaningful as is the much higher spin speed that dries the clothes better before they go into the dryer- spend enough (think beyond speed queen to a miele 220V machine) and you get an internal heating element that can sustain 60C in a one hour cycle eliminating bleach entirely.

With the Euro dishwashers the water and electricity savings using a filter vs a grinder and condense drying from a full SS interior are real as well, but at the expense of cycle time - min 1 hour, but a three rack systems holds much more than a 2 rack system so etc unit is less pushed to start with.


UD
 
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