Great Green Appliances

By Greg Pahl
Published on December 1, 2003
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Learn about these green appliances and how they can reduce your energy use. Author Greg Pahl gets his dirtiest duds squeaky clean, and saves energy and water, with his horizontal-axis washer. These washers also use less detergent and are more gentle to fabric.
Learn about these green appliances and how they can reduce your energy use. Author Greg Pahl gets his dirtiest duds squeaky clean, and saves energy and water, with his horizontal-axis washer. These washers also use less detergent and are more gentle to fabric.
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This Energy Star-certified ASKO dishwasher is 84 percent more energy efficient than the minimum federal standards.
This Energy Star-certified ASKO dishwasher is 84 percent more energy efficient than the minimum federal standards.

Learn about energy-efficient green appliances and how they can save you money and save energy for the planet.

Great Green Appliances

Plug into today’s energy-efficient appliances and enjoy long-term savings.

Are your home appliances green? No, not that nauseating avocado tint that was popular back in the 1970s. The question is, are your appliances easy on the environment? All the talk about eco-friendly products in recent years makes sorting out the facts from the “greenwash” splashed around by some manufacturers a difficult task.

So, what is a green appliance? This term generally is used to describe any energy-efficient home appliance, especially one that has received an “Energy Star” rating (see “Spot the Energy Star,” below). The more efficient the appliance, the less energy (and, in some cases, water) it will use. Lower energy consumption means less pollution from the generation of electricity. This is important because about 90 percent of U.S. electricity comes from nonrenewable sources, mainly fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Many home appliances made after 1993 are significantly more efficient than their predecessors, and some dramatic improvements have taken place in the past few years. This is especially true with major appliances such as refrigerators, clothes washers and dishwashers. For example, an average 1993 refrigerator was 99 percent more energy efficient than a similar unit produced in 1980, according to Jill Notini, director of communications for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. And in 2001, in response to federal regulations, that figure jumped to 146 percent.

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