Green Kitchen Remodel – Upgrade to Energy Saving Appliances
A green kitchen remodel – upgrading your old refrigerator, stove and dishwasher to energy saving appliances – can cut your energy bills and emissions by one third. Get ideas for your home in this HGTV video:
With all of the appliance choices available on the market today, how do you determine which products are the most energy-efficient? Energy Star, a joint EPA and DOE program, helps consumers to identify and buy energy-efficient products that offer savings on energy bills without sacrificing comfort, features and performance. Products that meet these criteria earn the Energy Star label.
Dishwashers
While manufacturers continually compete to produce a quiet water-saving dishwasher, American manufacturers such as KitchenAid and Whirlpool are moving towards European manufacturing methods, which eliminates hard-food disposal in the dishwasher.
If you are not satisfied with the cleaning job of your dishwasher, it may actually be due to the detergent. The removal of phosphates from dishwashing detergents have made them less effective. If your dishwasher was made before 1994, by replacing it with a new Energy Star qualified model, the savings will pay for a year’s worth of detergent.
Refrigerators
Most refrigerators sold today are Energy Star qualified and use 20% less energy than other models. They use dual evaporators that reduce odor transfer to the refrigerator from the freezer and help the refrigerator work more efficiently.
Ranges and Stoves
Energy Star qualified ranges and stoves have a steam-clean feature which is designed for light cleaning. These models have a hidden bake element with the pan recessed above the element. All you need to do is to fill the pan with water and follow the instructions. Within 45 minutes, the oven has been steam-cleaned. Just wipe off the residue, and the job is done.
The double-oven range is another advancement in energy savings. This type of range has a small and a large oven. The smaller oven heats up more quickly and uses less heat. You can probably use the smaller oven most of the time.
While a green kitchen remodel takes planning, you can save money and leave a smaller carbon footprint by purchasing the right eco-friendly and energy saving appliances.
