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When buying new appliances, I would strongly encourage that you look for the energy star logo. You should limit your search for an appliance to only those that carry the energy star label.

What is energy star? It is a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that tries to help us save energy. By saving energy we hope to save money and do a better job protecting our environment. On their site there is a statement that, “Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in 2007 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 27 million cars — all while saving $16 billion on their utility bills.” When a product or building carries the energy star, it insures to everyone that it has met the energy efficiency requirements set by the aforementioned groups.

Choosing energy efficient appliances can reduce your energy bill by more than 30%. Recently, my family’s refrigerator and dishwasher broke (they were both very old), so when we bought our new ones, we made sure that they were both marked with the energy star.

There are over 50 major categories of products eligible for the energy star, which include home electronics (e.g. televisions, cordless phones), heating and cooling (e.g. ceiling fans, central AC), appliances (e.g. dehumidifiers, water coolers), and more, so you might want to check the energy star site before going out to buy your newest gadgets. Did you know that even computers can earn the energy star label?

At first glance, the cost of something with the energy star label may cause you to learn toward its less-efficient counterpart, but in the long run, the more-efficient appliances will save you more money while also saving the environment!