The kitchen that provides your family’s nutrition is a warehouse of energy consumers: refrigerator, dishwasher, compactor, toaster, microwave, toaster oven, blender, and so on. Generating that energy uses up natural resources and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
Your kitchen is a solid place to go green as your old appliances eventually break or wear down. Choose a replacement that has earned the Energy Star label. These appliances meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy that will save you money and help the environment.
Products in more than fifty categories are eligible for the Energy Star. These include appliances, electronics, lighting, heating and cooling devices, and office equipment. If a product uses a form of natural resource energy, it is likely to be readily available in any standard brand as an Energy Star product at a retailer in your area.
This seems like a small step for an individual consumer, but the results of your Energy Star purchase will add up to make a significant difference. With the use of Energy Star products, Americans saved enough energy in 2005 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from twenty-three million cars—all while saving $12 billion on their utility bills.1 If just one in ten households bought Energy Star–qualified heating and cooling products, the change would keep eighteen billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions out of our air.2 This would be like planting 1.7 million acres of new trees. You can personally save about a third on your energy bill, with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style, or comfort. The average family spends $1,900 a year on energy bills, much of which goes to heating and cooling. By following the EPA’s recommendations for home energy efficiency, consumers can save about $600.3
There is a wealth of information about energy efficient appliances online at http://www.energystar.gov. Visit the Web site to learn about the latest certified models and to find a store in your area. There is even a “rebate finder” to help you track down any special offers your local utility companies might be offering.
Washing Dishes
The EPA tells us that an efficient dishwasher (without an initial rinse cycle) is by far the most energy-conserving way to wash those dishes, in terms of the annual gallons of water consumption (g) and annual energy consumption in kilowatt-hours (kh).4 Whichever dishwasher you have, be sure to run it with a full load.
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868 g |
276 kh |
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1,419 g |
295 kh |
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1,563 g |
334 kh |
- Efficient dishwasher, rinsing first:
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2,778 g |
677 kh |
- Standard dishwasher, rinsing first:
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3,473 g |
735 kh |
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5,974 g |
1,243 kh |
Preparing Your Fridge
The refrigerator is the single biggest power consumer in most households. This is not surprising, as it runs twenty-four hours a day. Buying an Energy Star fridge would save on the utility bill, and if all U.S. households used Energy Star refrigerators, they would keep more than forty-eight million metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
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