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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Energy Adviser: When to replace appliance

Answer may depend on whether you’re staying put or moving soon

The Columbian
Published:

When an appliance breaks down, you usually have a choice: repair it or replace it. You might decide based on whether you’re staying in your home much longer. If you are, consider a more energy-efficient model to save you money over the course of its lifespan.

On the other hand, if you plan to move in a couple of years, you might be tempted simply to repair the broken appliance because the new owner would reap the energy savings, and not you. Although, upgraded appliances and energy efficient improvements can be a selling point.

“Customers need to weigh the age of their appliance and its energy consumption when thinking whether to repair or replace it,” said Matthew Babbitts, energy services project manager for Clark Public Utilities. “Federal codes and standards ensure new appliances are more energy efficient than in the past, which results in lower operating costs for years after the purchase.”

If you’ve already weatherized your home and upgraded to an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, consider the replacement cost of an appliance alongside its efficiency. You’ll likely find that even today’s less efficient models are improved dramatically over older models. According to Energy Star, a fridge manufactured today uses around 500 kilowatts a year. In 1973, it used nearly four times that, about 1,800 kilowatts.

Appliances make up a significant part of your utility bill, as much as 15 percent, says the Department of Energy. A refrigerator often takes up the greater part of that, as much as 10 percent of the energy you use.

“Phasing out older energy-inefficient appliances has had a dramatic effect on reducing electricity consumption in homes,” Babbitts said. “Of course, that is only true if the old fridges aren’t moved to a garage or basement and plugged back in.”

Many retailers offer free or low-cost recycling of old appliances, or customers of Clark Public Utilities can call 360-992-3000 to schedule a free pickup of old, working full-size fridges or freezer for safe recycling.

“For many years, incentives, rebates, and credits were tactics most utilities used to encourage customers to buy more energy-efficient appliances,” Babbitts said. “However, now that most refrigerators and other appliances are more efficient in general, there’s less need to accelerate the market this way.”

Over the time, consumers have replaced most of the electricity-hungry appliance models with newer highly efficient ones. “With so many energy-saving appliances in place, and as energy savings increases, consumer incentive programs are shifting to new energy-saving areas,” said Babbitts. “For instance, incentives remain for heating systems and water heaters because there’s still a lot of progress to be made in those categories. And we just added a rebate for some models of smart thermostats.”

Green building practices have also taken root, making today’s new homes more energy efficient than those built before the 1990s. Clark County building codes also call for more energy-efficient construction, making energy savings built-in. In addition, many owners of pre-1990 homes have upgraded with weatherization measures, improved insulation and higher-efficiency heating units.

So, if you intend to move in a couple of years, do you get that broken appliance fixed or not?

“To get the most return for their money, customers should consider buying appliances that offer the highest energy savings,” said Babbitts. “The older an appliance is, the less sense fixing it makes. It may be more economical to replace it with the most efficient appliance you can afford. And then recycle the old one.”


Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.

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