Spending a little time researching appliance purchases can help homeowners save big on energy costs.
When looking for a clothes washer or dishwasher, it can pay to look for one that meets the 2007 Energy Star criteria and uses next-generation technology to cut energy and water consumption. These products do more than help homeowners save money, and they can help protect the environment.
For example, Energy Star-qualified clothes washers–whether they are front-loaders or redesigned top-loaders–include technical innovations that help save substantial energy and water. The average household does almost 400 loads of laundry each year, consuming over 13,000 gallons of water. Selecting a qualified washer instead of a regular top loader can cut utility bills by $60 and save over 7,000 gallons of water per year. New washing machines that don’t have the bulky agitator found in older models have more usable space in the tub for large laundry items, which means you can wash larger items and do fewer loads of laundry each week. Some of the newer agitator-free washers can wash over 20 pounds of laundry at once, compared to 10 to 15 pounds for a conventional...