Is your refrigerator running?

#phocagallerypiclens 4-phocagallerypiclenscode-Opinion/cindy head shot 1.jpg

Cindy Parker

Remember this one?  Ring, ring – “Hello?”

“Is your refrigerator running?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you better go catch it.”

Sure your refrigerator is running. They always do. It’s a rare event for a refrigerator to fail, and lately, when there is a failure, it’s related to the electronics of the “high tech” units.

You know the work-horse units, the old ‘fridge that’s relegated to the basement, the garage or the cottage. They can keep working for 20 years or more, they just may go out of style. Why get rid of a working unit, right?

Quoting a recent Department of Energy (DOE) headline, “the proof is in the pudding.” You might feel guilty about running to the ‘fridge for your late night snack or bowl of pudding, but you don’t have to feel guilty about the energy cost it takes to run the unit – if it’s a newer model.

Because of the technology and meaningful energy conservation standards put into place by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Building Technology Program, you can keep your cool without warming up your checkbook.

Although today’s refrigerators have increased in size by about 20 percent since 1975, they use only about 25 percent of the energy required by the models built at that time. What other item that you touch every day can claim to use 75 percent less electricity than the models in 1975? This is truly where new technology pays off. (Actually, your new television may be a runner-up in this category.)

Due to research, partnerships with utilities and market initiatives that have help refrigerator and other appliance standards; the DOE has been able to avoid the construction of more than 30 power plants with the energy saved since the first Federal standards in 1987. Since that time, the DOE has strengthened the standards for household refrigerators three (3) times. Each time, the manufacturing community has come to the plate with innovations that have enabled them to meet or exceed the efficiency requirements.

Compared to refrigerators of the 1970s, the refrigerators today save the nation about $20 billion per year in energy costs, or about $150 per year for the average family.

The next proposed increase in refrigerator and freezer efficiency – scheduled to take effect in 2014 – will save the nation almost four and a half quadrillion BTUs over 30 years. They say that’s the equivalent amount of energy savings that could be used to power a third of Africa for an entire year.

So, don’t let re-styling your kitchen be the driving force for getting a new refrigerator. Look at it from a payback perspective. The return on investment is clear. Scrap the dinosaurs in the garage, basement and cottage; you’ll see the proof in the pudding every month with your electric bill.

If your refrigerator is running up your electric bill, don’t you think that maybe it’s time to “go catch it?”