Why are my electric bills so high, even with ‘green’ appliances?
Q: I recently moved into a new house and installed a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer that have “green” settings. But I have noticed that my electric usage is twice what it was in my old house, even though it’s the same company and the same geographical area. In trying to chase down what is using so much electricity, I started thinking about the longer green settings on these appliances. On the clothes washer (Asko brand), the green cycle is more than two hours. I assume it uses less water. Water is not an issue for me, so am I using more electricity by running a longer cycle? — A reader in Bar Harbor, Maine A: A “green” setting, which goes by different names depending on the manufacturer, is designed to save both energy and water. In both clothes washers and dishwashers, this setting lowers the water temperature but extends the wash cycle enough so that laundry or dishes should get just as clean. Heating the water typically accounts for most of the appliance’s energy use — 90 percent in the case of a clothes washer, according to the federal Energy Star program — so the lower temperature results in energy savings even though the machine runs for a longer time. Manufacturers typically also provide a setting that gets the job done more quickly, but at a price. As Asko notes on its website: “When selecting Speed mode you task the washing machine with delivering perfect washing and rinsing results in less time than normal. To achieve this, both more water and more energy are added to the washing cycle.”
When you’re trying to figure out where to focus on reducing electricity use, it’s helpful to know what researchers have concluded about what goes on in a typical household. The U.S. Energy Information Administration does a randomized survey every few years to track energy use in different ways — by type of energy, household size, geographic region and even whether residents or landlords pay the bills. If you love delving into data, the EIA’s website focused on the Residential Energy Consumption Survey can keep you occupied for hours. You can even compare electricity use for main refrigerators and main televisions vs. second or third ones in a home.
Here are some key points to know about where — and how — your home uses energy:
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