Spring Into Energy Savings: Smart Appliance & Habit Changes

Spring is here! Refresh your home’s efficiency with these energy-saving strategies.

When it comes to preparing your home for spring, people don't always think about the way that your energy usage changes from season to season.  This week, we’ll take a look at different changes you can make to your appliances and your habits to keep your home energy efficient. 

Energy-Efficient Appliance Changes

Check to see if your appliances are ENERGY STAR certified. That is going to help you in figuring out how efficient they are capable of being.  Energy Star appliances are designed from the ground up to use less electricity. 

Next up, let’s look at one of the most important tips we have, keeping your appliances clean externally and internally. The harder your appliance works to breathe, the more energy it consumes. The more the various coils are caked in dirt, dust, and pet hair, the harder they have to work to bring keep cool. So making sure that all sides of your appliances are clean, directly relates to your bill. This also applies to your dryer, as making sure that the lint screen on your dryer is clean affects how hard it works. 

Once you’ve gotten your appliances clean, there are appliance specific changes that we can run through to get your entire suite in fighting shape. 

Refrigerator & Freezers

Courtesy of Darrien Staton

You want to keep your fridge and freezer full but not packed to the brim, which is a hard line to define. A full unit will retain the cold better, but too much will restrict airflow. In addition to having to work harder, having limited airflow leads to pockets in the unit that are warmer and colder.. These pockets make it harder to keep your food at the right temperatures.  This concern also applies to the amount of frost buildup in your freezer. You’ll want to defrost it regularly to ensure the frost doesn’t block airflow.   Once you have everything arranged properly, check your manufacturer pamphlet for what temperature is recommended. It should be somewhere around 40*F for the refrigerator and 0*F for the freezer.

Dishwasher

When it comes to your dishwasher, you’ll want to start by skipping the rinsing of your dishes. It sounds weird, we know. But your dishwasher, if it’s a modern one, is designed to handle food residue. So all you need to do is to scrape it off. Next up, make sure to run full loads. We don’t mean that you need to pack every dish in that you own. Merely that you need to ensure that you’re utilizing the space that is there. Doing this is going to cut down on your water waste, as well as your energy usage. Finally, skip the heated dry. Letting your dishes air-dry is perfectly acceptable.  

Oven & Stove

Let’s move on to your range and take a look there at how we can pare down. Use your toaster oven (or your microwave) to reheat your food, instead of the oven. Not only do these take less energy, but they also will keep your home cooler. Which, a useful tip is to avoid preheating unless it’s needed. Although all of us work hard to keep our burners clean, it’s probably not because we’re looking at efficiency. However, it turns out that keeping your burners clean is just as useful as keeping your fridge clean to allow better efficiency.  

Washer & Dryer

Courtesy of Bia Sousa

When it comes to your laundry, start by washing with cold water whenever possible. It might not seem like a big change, but it can save you a surprising amount on hot water costs. Next up, always run full loads or adjust the water level if you’re doing a smaller one. This helps make the most of every wash cycle. If you have a high-efficiency (HE) washer, be sure to use HE detergent—it’s designed to work best with these machines. On the drying side of things, clean the lint screen after every cycle to keep airflow strong and drying times short. Drying similar-weight fabrics together helps, too, since everything will dry more evenly. If your dryer has a moisture sensor, use it—this will shut off the machine when your clothes are dry instead of running longer than needed. And if you really want to cut down on energy use, consider line drying. If clothes feel too stiff, just toss them in the dryer for a few minutes on a low or air-dry setting to soften them up.

To round things out, we do want to point out an important if less enjoyable fact.
Unless your appliances are 10 years old or younger, you’re not working with ‘the most’ efficient home appliances. It’s a fact of research and development. You don’t have to purchase all new appliances, you do have to be aware that your mileage may vary. The amount of efficiency you will be able to improve your appliances will vary based on how old they are. The tips we’ve provided will absolutely help in reducing your energy usage and your bills. We just want to be upfront in regards to how much you can realistically expect. 

Energy-Saving Habits for Everyday Use

Beyond appliance-specific tips, changing daily habits can significantly impact your energy consumption.

• Run major appliances at night to reduce strain on the power grid and keep your home cooler.

• Unplug electronics when not in use or use power strips to cut phantom energy usage.

• Use ceiling fans to circulate air and reduce heating/cooling needs—run them counterclockwise in summer for a cooling effect.

• Replace or clean filters regularly in HVAC systems, range hoods, and dryers to prevent overworking your appliances.

• Keep blinds closed on hot days to reduce cooling costs; open them on sunny winter days to let in natural heat.

• Adjust your thermostat—set it to 78°F in summer and 68°F in winter for optimal savings.

• Be mindful of appliance placement—keep heat-producing electronics away from thermostats to prevent unnecessary cooling.

Managing Increased Summer Usage

Warmer months often mean more frequent fridge openings and heavier appliance usage. Here’s how to stay ahead:

• Declutter your fridge before summer to make space for seasonal grocery hauls.

• Increase maintenance—clean coils and check seals more frequently.

• Monitor performance for signs of strain, such as unusual noises or longer cooling times.

By making these adjustments and adopting energy-conscious habits, you’ll be well on your way to a more energy-efficient home this spring—and beyond.

By making a few simple changes to how you use and maintain your appliances, you can keep your home running efficiently while cutting down on energy waste. Whether it’s adjusting your daily habits, keeping your appliances clean, or optimizing their performance, every small step adds up to big savings over time. And if you ever run into appliance issues that maintenance alone can’t fix, our team at Appliance Rescue Service is here to help. From repairs to expert advice, we’ll make sure your appliances are working at their best—so you can enjoy a comfortable, energy-efficient home all season long.

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Energy Efficient Ovens 2022

What's possible, what isn't and where you need to be aware

We're looking this week at some of the most energy-efficient ovens in 2022. Unfortunately, ovens aren't as straightforward as the dishwashers we looked at last time. You've got several different types of ovens to consider and try to see how they stack up against one another. Fortunately, that's where we come in. 

What makes an oven energy efficient? When we were looking at dishwashers, we were comparing how much electricity and water was used by the dishwasher in question to finish a normal cycle. That's not as easy with an oven because of the number of factors that go into just cooking one recipe. 

- How hot is the oven getting? 

-Is the oven clean? 

- What's the fuel source, and how is that energy used? 

So we backed it up one step further, and took a look what would be judged for an oven to be energy-efficient.

According to Consumer Reports, there isn't currently an Energy Star rating for ranges (where a range is the combination of both an oven and a stovetop.) Because the oven and the stove can have two completely different energy sources, it makes it difficult for groups like Energy Star to decide what is and isn't energy efficient. So, we're not going to be looking for which models have an Energy Star and which don't. What can we look at then? 

How about how much energy is used on a yearly basis? 

An electric oven will typically cost you 12.56 cents per kilowatt hour. Most households in Texas use their oven and stove(which gets powered so long as one section is on), for at least 7 hours per week. So, you're coming up with approximately $200 per year to run your oven, at least according electricity prices averaged across Texas. 

Meanwhile, a gas oven is only using fuel for the oven when the oven is lit. Rates currently are (approximately) .22 cents per hour to run a gas oven. So you end up spending approximately $80 per year for your gas oven. So, just based on fuel consumption, a gas oven is the better choice. 

We will point out that in a previous post, we discussed the need to be running your exhaust fan when you're using the oven as well as the stove so that you're venting any and all fumes outdoors and your hospital bill doesn't go up from the buildup of fumes in the air you're breathing. So that does kick the price up a bit to approximately $100 a year to run your oven and the exhaust fan. But that's still half of what it costs to run the electric oven. 

An important note to round this section out. Despite how they're marketed at times, as of right now, Fall of 2022,  there's no such thing as a commercial induction oven. Although you can purchase an induction range, the technology isn't in the oven. It is only used as part of the stovetop. Which is a pity as we really wanted to see how that stacked up against the gas ovens.

What if you don't have a gas oven, though? As we've mentioned before, the cost to install the gas lines and purchase a gas stove can be very high upfront.   So, we've put together several options for you to make your electric stove more energy efficient. 

1) Make sure that your food is thoroughly defrosted before putting it into the oven. If the food has to come up from 30*F to 120*F internally, it's going to take much longer than if it only had to come up from 60*F.  Letting things defrost ahead of time saves you energy. 

2) Plan your meals so that you can cook several dishes at the same time. If you're planning your dishes all at once, you can cut down from having to run the oven every night to just one or two days a week. 

3) Don't wait for the oven to "heat up" if you're cooking just standard foods. If the oven is coming up to temperature anyway, you might as well make use of that time rather than wasting the energy spent. 

**An important note here. This absolutely doesn't apply to any type of baking or technical cooking. There the precise temperature control is necessary. These are meant to be general tips, not all-the-time tips. 

4) Don't open your oven door during cooking. If you're following tip number two, this can be hard. But if you're only cooking one or two things, by opening the door, you're just making it harder on your oven. Similar to your refrigerator during a blackout, every time you open the door to the oven, air escapes that it then has to replace and bring back to the correct temperature. 

5) Use glass or ceramic dishes when possible. Both glass and ceramic retain heat well and disperse it more evenly than metal dishes do. This means that you don't have to heat your oven to as high of a temperature, thus cutting down further on the amount of electricity you're using. 

6) Keep your oven clean.  A clean oven distributes heat more evenly and effectively. 

HOWEVER. DO NOT use the self-clean button unless: a) Your oven has a steam-cleaning feature. b) You're really wanting an excuse to purchase a new gas oven anyway. 

So that’s where things stand, energy-efficient ovens, are going to be gas ovens. Do you agree? Disagree? Do you have details on new ovens that we haven't run across yet? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page! 

If you’re here because your oven is driving you up the wall, it’s smoking or not getting up to temperature, we can help. Reach out to us on our contact page or give us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We’ll work with you to find a time that works best for you to have one of our technicians come and get your home running again.

What Does Energy Efficient Even Mean?

Why is it that every time you turn around your electric bill seems to be creeping higher? While we could go into energy resources, global resistance to renewable energy, inflation,  yadda yadda, let’s address something simple that all of us deal with. Our appliances. 

Yup, your appliances. Your appliances account for between 10 and 30% of your yearly electric bills.  And if they aren’t cared for, maintained and repaired regularly? That amount can go even higher. There are ways around that though, including purchasing energy efficient appliances, helping your current appliances be more efficient and making other small changes around the home. 

But what does energy efficient really mean? 

When people say ‘energy efficient’ they’re meaning that the appliance in question uses less energy to get the same amount of work done. So if you were to compare the non-efficient dryers to the efficient ones, you’re going to end up with fewer kiloWatt hours used for the same amount of time and the same load of laundry. 

Fortunately, there is a way to easily find appliances and other household items that are energy efficient. 

You’ve probably seen that big blue label on boxes at the appliance store, or in bold letters: ENERGY STAR. Or seen it advertised next to computers, dryers and lightbulbs CERTIFIED BY ENERGY STAR, as part of the list of features. These appliances have been developed and tested to the Energy Star standards. 

Energy Star is a program that’s run by both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy(DOE). It was developed in 1992 to promote and develop energy efficient policies, procedures and products.   An appliance that has the Energy Star label on it is one that has been tested by their scientists and been found to save energy, money and to reduce the carbon footprint. 

According to their website, what makes a product worthy of the Energy Star label is the following: 

-Certified products must deliver the features and performance demanded by consumers, in addition to increased energy efficiency.

-If the certified product costs more than a conventional, less-efficient counterpart, purchasers will recover their investment in increased energy efficiency through utility bill savings, within a reasonable period of time.

-Energy efficiency can be achieved through broadly available, non-proprietary technologies offered by more than one manufacturer.

-Product energy consumption and performance can be measured and verified with testing.

-Qualified refrigerators are at least 15% more efficient than the minimum federal efficiency standard.

-Qualified TVs consume 3 watts or less when switched off, compared to a standard TV, which consumes almost 6 watts on average.

-Office equipment that qualifies automatically enters a low-power "sleep" mode after a period of inactivity.

-Qualified light bulbs (CFLs) use two-thirds less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and must meet additional operating and reliability guidelines.

-Qualified furnaces offer a rating of 90% AFUE or greater, which is about 15% more efficient than the minimum federal efficiency standard.

What changes are there that make an appliance energy efficient? 

All sorts of changes have been made to appliances over the last 30 years, working to make them more efficient. For many this means better sensors and insulation to keep temperatures at the needed levels and seal them in properly.Refrigerators for example are becoming better at sealing in cold over the last few years with a change in their insulation. Others change how much water they use and how it’s heated.  Washers, for example, have been engineered so that they use approximately 25% less energy and between 70-75% less water per load. 

What does that mean for you? 

Like we said above, your appliances can account for roughly 20% of your household’s yearly electric costs. By replacing older models you can save between 10% and 50% of the energy you were using before, depending  on the models. “Households are saving hundreds of dollars annually as a result of increasing appliance efficiency standards,” says Shannon Baker-Branstetter, the senior energy and environment policy council at CR. Buying one major energy efficient appliance can save you over $100 in a year. The more appliances you buy, the more that number goes up. 

If you can’t replace, or you want to do more research, you can still cut back on your energy bill in unexpected ways. 

-Wash your laundry on cold rather than hot, and consider throwing a dry bath towel in when you dry them.  (This lets your clothes move around more easily and helps them dry faster. )

-Check around all of your appliances for dust or lint. Having blocked ventilation areas is an easy way for an appliance to overheat and thus draw more electricity. 

-Unplug! If you have appliances you only use once a day (say your toaster or coffeemaker) unplug them. Most models, especially older ones, will still draw power even if they aren’t turned on. 

-Set timers for devices such as tvs and computers so that they shut themselves off at night. 

These days more and more Energy Star certified appliances are being created over non-certified ones. While it used to be that you had to pay a high price by comparison, these days it’s possible to save money on the initial purchase and over time. If you’re looking to keep your current appliances for the time being, but would like to give them a check up, schedule an appointment with our technicians. We’d love to help you cut back on your energy bills.