Why Repairing Household Appliances Matters for a Greener Home
You might not think twice about the energy your appliances consume, but what if we told you that maintaining and repairing them could significantly lower your carbon footprint? It’s true! Your household appliances play a crucial role in the fight against climate change. Join us as we uncover the surprising ways your everyday actions can lead to a greener, more sustainable future.
Understanding Your Carbon Footprint
When we talk about your carbon footprint, we're referring to the total carbon emissions resulting from your daily activities. This includes direct emissions like driving your car and heating your home, as well as the emissions needed to produce electricity for your computer, appliances, and HVAC system. Additionally, it encompasses the emissions associated with goods imported and produced elsewhere and then shipped to you. All these factors combined make up your individual carbon footprint.
Countries also have carbon footprints, which are related to what they produce, import and export, and consume.
Finally, you have your primary and secondary carbon footprints. We're not talking about your left and right hands, but instead what you have control over versus what you don't. Your primary carbon footprint is what you have direct control over. Your secondary carbon footprint then has to do with carbon emissions tied to the goods and services that you consume. For example the manufacturing and transportation of consumer goods make up a lot of secondary carbon footprint.
The Average Carbon Footprint in the US
Per person the average carbon footprint is 14.9 tons per year. On one hand, that's still quite a bit. That means that in a given year, you are contributing that much. On the other hand, as much as it might not seem like it we have actually gone down in our consumption on a per person usage. We are actually back down to what we were in 1949, and we are on a mostly downward trend, which is fantastic. But you're probably asking how did we lower it and, more importantly what the heck does that have to do with your home?
Courtesy of Andrey Matveev
Both of these are tied together. Most of what we do and consume within our homes directly impacts our carbon footprint, and one of the biggest contributors is our appliances.
Why Should You Care
We’re not here to debate climate change—that's beyond the scope of our discussion. However, we can explain how our carbon footprints, individually and as a country, impact greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
We want to note that household carbon only equates to 20% of carbon emissions in the United States. That leaves the other 80% that are created by other means, primarily industrial. So, while greenhouse gases are all of our responsibility to change, it does not mean that it is solely your responsibility.you can still make a difference by taking action at home and advocating for policy changes.
How to Make a Difference
Now that you know what it is, and how it can affect you, how can you make changes?
Surprisingly? One of the big answers is your appliances. From purchasing appliances, to maintaining them, to the question of repair vs replace, all of these affect your carbon footprint.
When an appliance breaks down, it might seem easiest to just get a new one. However, this contributes to electronic waste, encourages companies to produce new appliances, and requires more raw materials.
By choosing to maintain and repair your household appliances, you can reduce waste, lower your energy consumption (and bills) and help create a greener environment around you.
Reduces waste and lowers energy consumption
That’s all well and good, but how?
Let’s take a look at the first one, reducing waste. The obvious answer is if you’re not throwing out an appliance, then you’re not adding waste to a landfill. Additionally though, you’re ensuring that you’re not purchasing all of the waste that comes with a new appliance. The plastic packaging to keep it looking pretty. The foam to protect it in travel. The foam and plastic that separate out different pieces for assembly. You also don’t have to purchase any of the aftermarket additions that you need to make it work for your household.
You also reduce your energy consumption. A poorly maintained or malfunctioning appliance will always eat more energy as it struggles to continue running. The harder it has to work, the more energy it will consumer, and the higher your power bills and higher greenhouse gas emissions.
Lowers Carbon Emissions In Manufacturing
Courtesy of Pixabay
You continuing to repair your appliances also means that fewer resources are used to produce new appliances, thus creating less waste. Creating new appliances requires extracting and processing raw materials (which requires additional energy as well), the manufacturing process and then transportation. Each step contributes greenhouse gas emissions, waste in landfills, and using more resources.
Promoting Sustainable Practices
When you choose to repair over replacing your appliances, you’re actively supporting your community, local businesses, and sending a message to appliance manufacturers.
You support your community by supporting local businesses for repair.
Your need for parts supports the businesses that cater to parts for repair.
Your choices, and support of local repair businesses, encourages your community, which in turn sends a messag to the appliance manufacturers that we want appliances that are sustainable. That you want ones that can be repaired instead of having to be destroyed instead.
Courtesy of cottonbro studio
That message? Encourages the development of a repair-focused industry. That then can create more jobs and stimulate your local economy further and promote even more environmentally friendly practices. It’s a snowball effect that starts with you and the people you talk with.
Encouraging Repairability And Upgradability
By prioritizing appliance repair, we influence manufacturers to design products that are easier to repair and upgrade. We want them to design products that are easier to repair and upgrade. This has the effect of not only ensuring your appliances last longer, but they require less materials to maintain.
If we can get manufacturers to make it possible to upgrade your appliances with the help of a technician? It would mean that you didn’t need to purchase a whole new refrigerator, just because you want improved seals, or a new oven because you want the air-fryer addition.
All of this is how your choices affect your carbon footprint, and the effects you can have on your community and the larger industry. What are the companies that make up that industry doing to help though?
Companies That Are Working To Make A Difference
A final note before we round things out for the week is that there are companies that are trying to make changes just like you are at home. One way you can directly apply pressure to the industry is by supporting companies like these who are making positive changes and telling friends and family to support them as well. On a large scale, we have to try and shift culture towards embracing environmentally friendly ideas, and looking to try and change the problems that are being had on a cultural basis surrounding the carbon footprint.
Miele has promised to be carbon dioxide neutral across all its locations starting in 2021. ((Check email to see if they got back to me))
Samsung has also been running a carbon offsetting campaign since 2019 to offset carbon emissions from customer usage. (This means that they are looking to find ways to balance out against all Samsung product usage, not that they're looking to change their manufacturing output.)
LG has a zero-carbon initiative that has been running for five years at this point. It is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions from its global operations by 2030. As of 2023, it is working hard to decrease carbon emissions, boost its renewable energy, and support other companies in making the switch to renewable energy as well.
The business that we were most impressed by, though, is Bosch. In 2019 alone, Bosch launched more than 1000 different projects that generated enough electricity to bring power to 65,000 households in Germany for a year. (And while Germany is a long way off from us here in Texas, by supporting companies like Bosch and demanding involvement like that here, we can make our wants known.) Bosch is a company that has taken responsibility for combating the problems we’re facing, and are working to not just net zero, but to become carbon neutral.
Bosch launched 1000 different projects back in 2019 that generated enough electricity to power 65,000 households in Germany for a year.
This company in particular is one that really has taken up a lot of responsibility for combating the problems that we face with climate change. They intend to become carbon neutral in the immediate future, and this would make them the first big company in the industrial world to do so.
By prioritizing the maintenance and repair of your household appliances, you're not just reducing waste and saving on energy bills—you're actively contributing to a more sustainable future. Each choice you make at home echoes beyond your walls, influencing manufacturers to prioritize repairability and driving a shift towards eco-conscious living.
At Appliance Rescue Service, we believe in extending the lifespan of your appliances through reliable repairs. Our expert technicians specialize in ensuring your appliances contribute to a greener environment without sacrificing convenience. Join the conversation on sustainable living and discover how Appliance Rescue Service can be your partner in creating an eco-friendly home. Contact us today to schedule your next repair and take a step towards a more sustainable future.
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Additional Reading
Wondering How to Clean Your Appliances Sustainably? Eco-Friendly Methods Unveiled
The Planned Obsolescence Debate