I am going to build a new home soon with some cool energy saving methods and will need new appliances. There seems to be lots of Energy Star appliances and am wondering if anyone has any ideas which ones are better than the others. I am looking for a front loader washer / dryer, dishwasher, and fridge.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home.index seems your best reference. Now, the LG LDS5811WW I bought this past weekend wasn't the most green dishwasher I could have gotten, but given the feature-set I was looking for it came out on top...
I notice that Consumer Reports' website doesn't give the listed Asko a lot better Energy Use rating than the LG, but the more-expensive Asko gets a slightly higher rating. I guess picking a bunch of efficient appliances then finding which ones clean or cook better is an OK way to go. I use my current dishwasher about once a week, but it's a bottom-dollar Kenmore that came with the house and often left the dishes dirty and leaks a little and other annoying things. After a year and one service call where I was told to change the detergent I used and to make sure the water was warm before starting it, which when I did that made no difference in cleaning or leaking, it had to GO. Meanwhile, Home Depot had 10% off and a rebate and LG had a rebate...
The most recent Consumer Reports actually has an evaluation of washers and dryers. As I recall, they recommended getting the front loading Kenmore Washer and Dryer. There are two models and they thought the cheaper model would do just fine. It was just lacking some option that I don't recall right now. You can probably still pick up that issue or go on their website and join for a small fee and review the report.
We've had three Asko dryers catch fire and burn up after being properly installed and maintained. we will not install any more of them.
You really should head over to That Home Site!'s forums. Go to the appliances forum, and you will find lots of good advice. That Home Site!
We had flawless service from our original Kenmore washer and dryer. When we upgraded after the installation of solar photovoltaics on our house, we opted for Kenmore once again. The front loader washer uses 12 gallons per load instead of 50 for a top loader. Very nice machines. We got a Kenmore refigerator as well that uses less than a quarter of the energy the old one did. Sears makes good stuff. My only complaint about Sears was trying to avoid the extended warranties that they try to sell.
