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Finding Efficient Products
During the past 20 years, electric appliances have steadily increased their energy-efficiency levels. Examples include:
\ • Electric heat pumps can return up to $4 in heating or cooling for each $1 spent on electricity to run it.
• Microwave ovens can cook a meal using up to 90 percent less energy than a gas oven.
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs consume 75 percent less electricity than their incandescent counterparts.
• Refirgerators can now use as little as half the electricity of those built in the 1970s.
When you are selecting appliances and equipment, specify the highest efficiency level you can afford. You will pay more at purchase time, but ask the salesperson about the payback period — that’s the time it takes for the appliance’s monthly energy savings to pay you back for the higher purchase price.
Keeping Control
How the household uses the energy-efficient electric appliances and equipment determines your electric bill. Energy-(and money)-saving equipment here ranges from light timers and dimipers, to set-back thermostats, to fully integrated home automation systems. The new home automa
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