Buying Energy Efficient Appliances

Refrigeration appliances are one of the biggest energy consumers in your home becuase they are left running all the time. This makes investing in an energy-efficient fridge or freezer a crucial way you can help reduce your running costs. Many models come with features to aid food safety such as bespoke systems that ensure food maintains its freshness for longer, also helping you reduce food waste. It's also important to consider the size of the appliance and only buy refrigeration that is big enough for the amount of food you buy, rather than running an unnecessarily large appliance.

Many of our washing machines come packed with energy-efficient features such as lower temperatures, the ability to set the amount of energy your machine uses, or energy consumption tracking so you can know how much you have used. Investing in a washing machine with a high maximum spin will also ensure less time and energy is spent drying your clothes, towels, and sheets.

The running cost of your tumble dryer will depend on how long the machine is drying for and how hard it has to work. Investing in a heat pump condenser model may help you reduce your energy costs, as warm air used in the dryer is recirculated rather than allowing it to escape. This method means that the dryer avoids the need for ducting and conserves much of its heat, saving on energy.

Investing in a washer-dryer with a higher spin speed will save money in the long run as your laundry will have less moisture in it as it goes into the drying cycle, and so will dry faster. Where available, use sensor drying rather than a timed cycle so you're not using more energy than required. For maximum efficiency when using a washing and drying cycle, remove some items from the drum after the wash, and do an additional second drying cycle - this is because the drying programme will have a smaller capacity than the washing programme. Also, clothes that have bundled up into a ball will take a long time to dry - fix this by loosening your clothes before drying them.

Energy-efficient dishwashers are designed to consume less water and electricity while still effectively cleaning your dishes. The energy label will give you a good indication of how much energy and water an appliance typically uses, including annual water consumption, drying efficiency (A to G rating), capacity, and noise emission. Energy-efficient dishwashers typically use less than 3 gallons of water per cycle, compared to a typical older model which can use 10 gallons or more. Other features include Delay Start so that you can set it to run during off-peak hours when electricity rates may be lower. Plus, Eco Modes use less water and energy for lightly soiled dishes.

Energy-efficient electric ovens are designed to use less energy while still providing great cooking performance. Many energy-efficient ovens use convection technology, which circulates hot air around the food to cook it more evenly and often faster, reducing overall cooking time and energy consumption. Energy efficiency gradings for electric ovens are the responsibility of the appliance manufacturers, and their work is monitored by Trading Standards.