Energy Star – 10Rate

Refrigerator Energy Star/Energy Guide Power Consumption Guidelines and Considerations

John Moore — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:01:55 +0000

By John E. Moore

Refrigerators have the deserved reputation of energy hogs. They certainly do drive up your power bills so it’s important to keep the fridge on the right cooler setting as well as purchase a refrigerator that will give you better efficiency. They also run non-stop. Newer refrigerators will be better at this due to 1) Energy Star requirements and 2) U.S. Government mandated posted Energy Guide stickers.

Recently, manufacturers are all clamoring for the blue Energy Star sticker and claim. By Energy Star requirements, a refrigerator must be at least 20% more efficient than the Federal Dept. of Energy minimum. It serves as a useful guide, however how they determine which models get the Energy Star and which do not, requires some investigation.

The Federal government now requires manufacturers to post an Energy Guide. This guide shows how much an appliance like a refrigerator costs you over a year compared with the average. The term used is ‘Estimated Yearly Operating Cost.” Funny thing is, every time I look at the attached yellow Energy Guide not a single model of refrigerator claims to be above the average. For example, the inexpensive Amana side by side fridge I’m currently looking at states an estimated yearly operating cost of $61. The sticker states a low end range of $60 to a high end of $78. Based on that, it doesn’t really seem to mean anything. If there is only a $18 difference for a whole year…well you get the picture. The “Energy Guide” also states the estimated yearly kWh use. For example the above referenced fridge registers 577 kWh. But what cooler setting is that power consumption based on? Further down in the bullet points the guide states this refrigerator is compared “based on models of similar capacity with this feature and that feature. Then it states that the estimated operating cost is based on the 2007 national average. Anyones utility bill kWh charge not gone up in the past 4 years? Frankly it’s about useless. Another government initiative gone bad?

The Energy Star sticker is about as good as you are going to get for determining whether a refrigerator is energy efficient compared with the competition. Suffice it to say though that the focus on better energy efficiency (in technology terms) alone is causing manufacturers to focus on the subject – not the effectiveness of the programs.

Fridges have grown larger and acquired more features in the last 40 years; however they have steadily decreased the amount of energy they use. Today’s refrigerators use less than one-third of the electricity than they did in the mid-1970s (per same size) but then we must look at those faulty manufactures specifications in storage capacity to determine if this is actually true.

Under a new proposal by the Department of Energy an average new 20-cubic-foot refrigerator top freezer would consume approximately 390 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year – a reduction from about 900 kWh/year in 1990 and about 1,700 kWh/year in the early 1970s.

^{John E. Moore has been reviewing kitchen goods and refrigerators for 8 years as the leader of cookswarehouse.com. Cooks Warehouse sells more than 400 kitchen items and accessories. John is also a self-described computer tech geek…. See more about John}

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Yet Another Energy Related Award for a Refrigerator; LG this time

John Moore — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:16:50 +0000

By John E. Moore
The LG LFX 31925 has won an award from Good Housekeepings Green Energy side for energy efficiency. There are some trappings to this award as the magazine agrees to refund the price of the unit if it turns out to be defective from manufacturers defects within the first two years of use. That’s a pretty nice guarantee to offer. Now keep in mind this is very expensive refrigerator of $3000 plus.

To top all this energy efficiency stuff off even more, refrigerators will be 25% more efficient in 2014 than they are today according to Big Brother (Dept. of Energy). We’re not holding out breath however that this will help reduce the Federal Govt. deficit or debt problem Maybe they should focus more on their own household….

Are Energy Star Refrigerators Really Worth the Difference in Price?

John Moore — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:15:41 +0000

By John E. Moore
First off, know that almost all refrigerators coming out these days are Energy Star rated – at least from the major manufacturers that pay Energy Star enough money to get certified. I’m sure they pay a pretty penny for the sticker. The Energy Star sticker means the fridge runs at 20% less energy than the minimum required by the dept. of energy aka US Gov.

We’re leary about these standards for many reasons. The most problematic of the issues surrounding how energy efficient a refrigerator is happens to be the internal storage capacity measurement of the refrigerator. Measurements most of the time do not accurately reflect the internal storage space. This obviously skews the energy requirements needed to cool the fridge.

The second is what temperature the fridge is kept at during testing. Is it the lowest cooler setting or middle ground? We dont know, it’s not published but my guess is that most will need to keep the fridge at around a middle cooler setting.

What about opening and closing the door? How does that fit into the equation?

A little more information in answer to these questions would be very much appreciated….

When shopping, compare the estimated yearly operating cost of your new model with the cost range of similar models by looking at the yellow EnergyGuide label. All new refrigerators sold in the U.S. are required to have this label. Consumer Reports also offers a refrigerator guide with tips on purchasing a new refrigerator.

LG’s Greener Living Tour Promotes Refrigerator, Larger size fridge

John Moore — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:44:19 +0000

By John E. Moore
Funny, now LG, rather than promoting energy efficiency in it’s refrigerator is promoting how much gas you will save by buying a larger refrigerator and going to the store less often. What a twist. See our article about energy efficiency standards in refrigerators and what we suspect is the major reason for all the energy savings (hint: you dont actually have as much space as the manufacturer posts). Read below the promotion:

The centerpiece of the Greener Living Tour is LG’s new super-capacity French-door refrigerator. With about 20 percent more capacity than the standard 36-inch width refrigerator – enough for 51 gallons of milk or numerous bushels of fresh produce – consumers can store more market-fresh fruits and veggies, and spend less time driving to the store.

This ENERGY STAR-qualified refrigerator exceeds government energy standards by 20 percent, offers industry-leading capacity and a host of features to help keep foods fresher, longer. To maximize energy savings, LG redesigned the refrigerator’s compressor. Typically, the compressor is either running at full power or off completely; however, LG’s Linear Compressor can vary output depending on need, and has fewer moving parts, which creates less friction and saves more energy.

This technology leads to fewer temperature swings, which means consumers use less energy and spend less money. The new compressor also drives LG’s new Smart Cooling System, which is designed to provide superior humidity and temperature to help extend the life of fresh foods.