Fridge Replacement Analysis Sears (of all places!) had a one day sale yesterday I decided to take advantage of. What follows is an enviro and cost analysis of my purchase: Old fridge: 2 kwh a day energy consumption, waste of about 0.5 pounds of vegetables a week, cost about $1 19 c.f. volume anticipate selling for $150 New fridge: 1 kwh a day energy consumption 22 c.f. volume updates kitchen aesthetics Cost: $1062 delivered Energy: currently 12 cents a kwh, Assumed cost increases 4% annualy to match historical inflation Money: 5% opportunity cost or loan apr 20 year amortization ------------ In 2011 money, I will pay 2 cents a day net financing costs less energy costs and gain the following: A new fridge, nicer looking kitchen; conservation of 1 kwh/day electric; conservation of 0.5 pounds of vegetables a week; removal of 1 kwh/day heat load in my house. That is a good thing 8 months of the year. Heck of a deal. I don't expect to be paid to be a good citizen, but I like it when it happens And note, there was no corrupting tax credit, subsidy, or nonsense required. Just a bit of patience to sniff out a good consumer price.
You can get really good deals from Sears, and they will match competitors. You may check with your local utility, some offer rebates for new, more efficient fridges. We purchased a new 25 cf fridge about a year ago for about $1200 delivered. It is big enough that we eliminated a spare we had in the garage. That reduced the electric bill. Then we just sold that fridge for $250. My wife cleaned it - it was in pristine condition. A 14 year old Amana bottom freezer, 21 cf. We also sold a 16 year old black Amana top freezer for $125. This was the one we were using as a spare in the garage. Good move on your part!
Replacing an old fridge is usually pretty cost-effective, so much so that the EPA has a calculator to use as a guideline. I think it assumes a fridge in average condition for its age. ENERGY STAR The government rebates offered for Energy Star appliances are pretty modest. At 1 KWH/day for 22 cu ft that surely hits the Energy Star standard. The programs are run by the states, not the Feds, if that makes any difference to you. In Virginia, the rebate on an Energy Star fridge is $60. Small enough that the well-to-do will ignore it, but maybe enough to push some people into the (presumably) more efficient Energy Star certified appliances rather than others. And the fixed dollar amount matters more if you're buying at the low end of the market. You're not losing much to ignore the rebates, if any, offered in your state. Energy Savers: Rebates for ENERGY STAR Appliances
What assumption did you make about repair costs for both refrigerators? I'm saying this because I didn't quite understand your line item for .5 veggie waste on the old refrig. By the way, anyone still refer to refrigerators as the "ice box"? I do.
Ice box? I got rid of my old fridge because it kept forming ice in the refrigerator cabinet not just the freezer. My fridge is a no ice zone.
No repair costs were calculated. Our current fridge has poor temperature and humidity control leading to vegetable spoilage. Based on the experience of others I anticipate this loss will stop with the new appliance.
Energy Star has a very nice spreadsheet that includes fridge model, features, volume, and energy usage. I modded the table to only look at 22 cf boxes, and used their adjusted volumes that accounts for different ratios of freezer/cooler space to sort by energy efficiency. Table below
