Choosing energy efficient appliances to reduce consumption is one way to offset rising electricity prices. We offer some other tips and advice:
Want to know where the most energy is used in the average home? Here’s a breakdown:
1 Like
Some products fall into the ‘feels good to do the right thing but does it make economic sense’ basket. If we assume power prices are constants (a bad assumption, but)
Financial break even of about 4 years is not too bad, but for
break even is 14 years.
If you have fewer dollars available for a purchase you are going to have a product with higher running costs. Regardless of that the free market system often makes running costs irrelevant as the major criteria if a person has to decide to have a product or not.
Even those with the dollars may wonder if it makes economic sense to buy something with a break even of 14 years considering it might need repairs, essentially adding to the base cost. It makes me wonder how much more expensive it is to make more efficient products at the low end, or if it is all just marketing to have a way to up-sell and up-price.
3 Likes
Good points @PhilT, the break even cost is really important to the overall value proposition. You’d want to assess this when choosing between different appliances 
2 Likes
buying a heat pump driven condenser clothes drier was definitely for the feel good (and lower electricity consumption) for me - as we do most of our laundry drying on either rotary clothes hoist or the undercover line on the verandah. But for the times when the humidity is so high that things don’t dry properly on the undercover line it is good to have a drier that is economical to run, especially for
the big sheets (10kg Bosch heat pump condenser drier)
1 Like
Hi @PhilT, you’re certainly correct - more often than not the most efficient to run appliance will have a higher purchase price. The break even point, and the value for each purchase will depend a lot on how an individual household uses an appliance (except for fridges, which are always on no matter what). This is especially evident with appliances like dryers - if you only use your dryer once or twice a year then it certainly doesn’t make economic sense to buy an expensive but efficient heat pump dryer, but if you use your dryer every day then the higher initial spend will pay dividends very quickly. Again you’re right in saying that a 14 year break even point is a bit of a stretch - especially when you consider that in some cases this may be longer than the appliances lifespan. But if you use this dryer daily then that break even point gets much smaller. And yes, the choice is a much simpler one when comparing two products with a similar purchase price but dramatically different energy consumption.
So our aim with this article was not to say everyone should buy really expensive appliances because they’re energy efficient. Rather, we wanted to highlight just how much of an impact your appliance choices can have on your energy bill, which can be considerable, though it’s far from the only factor consumers need to consider when choosing appliances.
4 Likes
