What are green appliances?
With all the buzz about efficient appliances lately, you might have heard of “vampire power” or “phantom loads”. This is the electricity that is used by your appliances even when they are not in use. The most common culprits of this tragedy are the plasma screen televisions, gaming systems, computers, and stereo set-ups. But what about our beloved kitchen appliances? Some of these are guilty of drawing vampire power as well. The larger appliances usually have ENERGY STAR ratings for consumers to look for when purchasing, but the smaller appliances, such as your coffee maker, toaster, and microwave are not rated.
ENERGY STAR is a rating system created by the EPA to help consumers purchase more energy efficient products, save money, and protect the environment. However, while ENERGY STAR ratings have expanded to include things like cell phone chargers, they do not rate many of the smaller appliances we use everyday. ENERGY STAR makes shopping for an energy-efficient large appliance really simple, but it would be nice to know what to look for in small appliances to minimize our energy consumption even further.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Savers Booklet, appliances account for about 17% of the typical household’s energy consumption. Of course, a big chunk of that is your refrigerator, but small appliances can add up too! An example of this is the fact that a regular microwave oven costs about $20 per year to operate. Add that to the cost of other appliances and we are starting to see where a bit of that energy budget goes.
So what is there to do?
The first step is to identify the phantom load that your appliances have. You can do this by using a Kill-A-Watt meter, which you can purchase at the ReUse Center. Plug your appliance into the meter, which is plugged into the wall, and leave your appliance off for 6-8 hours. I left my appliances plugged in overnight. This allows the meter to get a proper reading of the amount of electricity being drawn by the appliance when it’s not in use.
The second step is to take a good, hard look at your coffee pots, toasters, microwaves, and anything else you leave plugged in. Do you see any lights or clocks that stay on even if you aren’t using the appliance? These tiny lights and clocks use energy and they contribute to the phantom load! If possible, try to purchase appliances without these lights or clocks. You might be wondering how you could live without your microwave clock. Lo and behold, I have a plan for you! Buy a kitchen wall clock. Place it in an easy to see area and voila! Time is at your fingertips and you can ignore the little blinking clocks on your microwave and coffee maker.
The third step is to buy high-quality appliances that will last many years instead of buying a new, low-quality appliance every couple of years. The cost of production & transportation of the new appliance is often much, much higher than the cost it takes to operate that same appliance over its life. This is a concept called embodied energy. Some items have a higher embodied energy, but as a rule, buying quality products that will last will save energy in the long run. An easy way to do this is to look at the warranties on the product because this is a sign of how long the manufacturer thinks it will last.
The fourth step in your energy saving journey is to purchase a power strip. Plug your countertop kitchen appliances, such as the toaster, coffee maker, juicer, and blender into the strip. When you need these appliances to make breakfast in the morning, just hit one button and they all have juice! When you’re finished, just click them off and it stops the phantom load that the items would draw! Of course, you could (and should) feel free to unplug each appliance as you use it. This is a necessity if counter space is at a premium, but a power strip can simplify this process.
Overall, my best recommendation is to unplug your smaller appliances when you are not using them. This will save you the most energy in the end because they will not be pulling a phantom energy load. Identifying phantom load with a Kill-A-Watt meter, looking for lights and clocks on the smaller appliances, buying high-quality appliances, purchasing a power strip, and just unplugging appliances are simple steps that you can take to help save energy and money in your everyday life! So, while at first it might seem like a hassle to unplug your coffee pot after the job is done, if you work it into your routine, it can become brainless enough for even the groggiest of pre-coffee humans!
