At a Glance:
ENERGY STAR Appliances, Explained
Saving Money with ENERGY STAR Appliances
Common Features of Eco-Friendly Kitchen Appliances
6 Favorite Eco-Friendly Kitchen Appliances
If you are replacing old appliances or updating your home, now is the time to seek out eco-friendly kitchen appliances. When you make this switch, you can save on utility bills and energy use while helping the environment. Any appliance can claim to be energy efficient, but the blue ENERGY STAR label provides simple, credible, and unbiased information to point you toward energy-efficient appliances.
Keep reading to learn more about the qualifications for ENERGY STAR appliances and six of our favorite eco-friendly dishwashers, refrigerators, and range hoods from Plaza Appliance Mart.
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Discover eco-friendly kitchen appliances from today’s best brands including GE and Maytag!
Kitchen AppliancesENERGY STAR Appliances, Explained
Eco-friendly appliances enable you to save money on utility bills, conserve energy, and reduce your footprint in the world. They are a great choice for any home.
Here are two important definitions to know:
- Energy efficiency is all about using less energy to get the job done. Energy efficiency protects the environment, saves money, helps address energy equity, and cuts pollution.
- ENERGY STAR is administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and denotes products that meet strict energy efficiency specifications set by the EPA. ENERGY STAR appliances usually exceed minimum federal standards for energy efficiency by a substantial amount.
Simply put, if you see a blue ENERGY STAR label, you can rest assured you are choosing an eco-friendly kitchen appliance that exceeds the government’s standards for energy efficiency.
Saving Money with ENERGY STAR Appliances
Sometimes people forget that an appliance can cost more than the initial price tag you pay in the store in the long term of things. You will also pay to operate the appliance over its lifetime. Appliances can last up to 10 to 20 years, so considering the impact of an appliance on your utility bill is important. ENERGY STAR appliances consume less energy and minimize your utility bill.
Additionally, because the EPA is committed to increasing the energy-efficient product market, you can often find rebates and special offers on ENERGY STAR-certified products. This is a great way to save on a new eco-friendly appliance!
Common Features of Eco-Friendly Kitchen Appliances
Eco-friendly kitchen appliances champion cutting down on energy while providing excellent performance. Common features include energy efficiency, water efficiency, and efficient cooking and cooling. Eco-friendly appliances may prioritize quiet performance to cut down on noise pollution. Smart technology features may utilize sensors or timers to optimize energy usage and provide information about your energy consumption.
6 Favorite Eco-Friendly Kitchen Appliances
At Plaza Appliance Mart, we offer ENERGY STAR options for every type of kitchen appliance. Let’s check out some of our favorite dishwashers, refrigerators, and range hoods.
Top Eco-Friendly Dishwashers
Eco-friendly dishwashers offer huge opportunities to save on energy and money. Check out these stats:
- On average, an ENERGY STAR-certified dishwasher uses 12 percent less energy and 30 percent less water than a standard dishwasher.
- Typically, an ENERGY STAR dishwasher costs about $35 per year to run.
- Washing dishes by hand uses more than twice the energy of an ENERGY STAR-certified dishwasher!
- Improved dishwasher technology reduces energy and water consumption and improves performance. Innovations include soil sensors, improved water filtration, more efficient jets, and better dish rack designs.
Here are two of our favorite eco-friendly dishwashers.
For those who are as style conscious as they are energy conscious, the Café™ 24” Matte Black Built-In Drawer Dishwasher is a beautiful choice. This Café dishwasher features two special settings designed to conserve resources: the guilt-free Small Load for partial loads and the Eco-Cycle to consume less energy and water. The double-drawer design allows you to wash each drawer independently and with separate cycle settings. This dishwasher accommodates large dish loads with enough capacity for 14-place settings.
This eco-friendly dishwasher saves energy and delivers on style and flexibility.
Adding a panel kit or custom front to the Whirlpool 24” Panel Ready Built-In Dishwasher can seamlessly integrate into your kitchen cabinetry design. This ENERGY STAR-certified, ADA-compliant Whirlpool dishwasher features an adjustable upper rack to accommodate larger items and guarantees quiet cleaning performance. Get a complete clean with the dual spray arm and enjoy the heavy cycle or high-temperature wash option, knowing that your dishwasher maintains energy efficiency. We love the Cycle Memory feature, which saves your most recent cycle and starts it with the push of a button.
Get a dishwasher that blends into your eco-friendly kitchen and offers optimum cleaning performance.
Top Eco-Friendly Refrigerators
Here are some tips for selecting an eco-friendly refrigerator:
- Refrigerators with bottom freezers and side-by-side refrigerators typically use more energy than refrigerators with freezers on top.
- With fewer doors comes less potential for air leakage, so look out for refrigerators with fewer doors and drawers to conserve energy.
- OId refrigerators use about 35 percent more energy than ENERGY STAR refrigerators.
- ENERGY STAR-certified coolers — like wine coolers or beverage centers — are 10–30 percent more efficient than models that meet the federal minimum energy efficiency standard.
One downside to eco-friendly refrigerators can be a loss of space due to improved (and thicker) insulation, but the Frigidaire 20.0 Cu. Ft. Top Freezer Refrigerator offers 20 cu. ft. of storage that fits in a standard 18 cu. ft. fridge cutout. Never let cool air leak out with this Frigidaire refrigerator’s Auto-Close Doors. Save money on produce by keeping it fresher longer with Humidity-Controlled Crisper Drawers. Avoid warm spots and unwanted freezing with Frigidaire’s EvenTemp Cooling System.
Get a top freezer fridge that exceeds government energy efficiency standards and offers ample storage to keep your food organized and fresh.
With its sleek, minimal design, the Haier 15.0 Cu. Ft. Stainless Steel Bottom Freezer Refrigerator couples sophisticated form with energy-saving function. Adjust temperatures with the external touch display or utilize the Quick Cool, Quick Freeze, or Sabbath functions as needed. This Haier refrigerator supplies ample room for whatever you want to store with three full-width door bins and one crisper. We love this fridge’s bright, energy-saving LED lighting, so you can see what’s available.
Feel good about keeping your food fresh and cool with this Haier refrigerator.
Top Eco-Friendly Range Hoods
A range hood provides better ventilation and air quality than an over-the-range microwave. Remove smoke, odor, and moisture from your kitchen, and trap unwanted grease. No more setting off the smoke alarm when you install a range hood!
The Whirlpool 30” Wall Mounted Range Hood saves energy while providing three speeds of powerful ventilation. An ENERGY STAR range hood is both practical and stylish. We love how easy the grease filter is to clean — unlatch it from the hood and hand wash it with soap and water.
This eco-friendly range hood brings your kitchen a more professional, polished look.
The Whirlpool 36” Wall Mounted Range Hood offers all the same features as the Whirlpool 30” range hood but in a larger size. See everything on your cooktop clearly with energy-efficient LED lights. Handle the heat and cooking power of any electric or gas cooktop with up to 65K total BTUs. We love the easy push button controls to adjust fan speed and cooktop lighting.
Enjoy an odor and smoke-free kitchen with this ENERGY STAR range hood.
If you’re looking to replace your kitchen appliances, eco-friendly appliances are the way to go for your wallet and the good of the planet! You can join ENERGY STAR in their fight against climate change. Eco-friendly kitchen appliances save energy, time, and money on utility bills without compromising on quality and performance. Visit us at Plaza Appliance Mart to compare ENERGY STAR appliances today.
FAQs
Need to know more about eco-friendly appliances before making the switch? Learn more about how eco-friendly appliances can make your kitchen more energy-efficient.
What brands offer ENERGY STAR appliances?
Nearly 40 percent of the Fortune 500 partners with ENERGY STAR, together with EPA, provide affordable energy-efficiency solutions that safeguard the environment, enhance air quality, and safeguard human health. Many well-known brands such as Whirlpool, Frigidaire, GE, and LG offer ENERGY STAR-certified appliances, but not every model they produce receives the blue label. It is important to research the specific model you are looking to buy.
Do all types of appliances come in ENERGY STAR models?
Currently, there is no ENERGY STAR label for residential ovens, ranges, or microwaves. However, over 60 product categories do have an ENERGY STAR label, including air conditioners, clothes dryers, solar water heaters, and dishwashers.
What are some tips for maintaining an energy-efficient, eco-friendly kitchen?
- Defrost your freezer and fridge! Do not allow frost to build up more than one-quarter of an inch.
- Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight.
- Use small electric pans, toaster ovens, or convection ovens when you can, such as for small meals. A toaster or convection oven uses up to half the energy of a full-sized oven.
- Use a covered kettle or pan or an electric kettle to boil water faster and with less energy.
- Make sure the size of your pan matches the size of your heating element when cooking. Don’t waste energy heating up a large element for a small pot!
Why Trust Plaza Appliance Mart?
Plaza Appliance Mart is a local, family-owned, appliance store in North Carolina where you can get personalized, expert service that you won’t find at the big box stores. Plaza Appliance Mart is YOUR source for competitive prices with knowledgeable in-store professionals here to help you every step of the way, whether you need to replace an old appliance, or if you’re remodeling and need an entire kitchen full of new brand-name products. And, our delivery and installation specialists will assure that your new appliances arrive safely and are installed properly.
If you were to ask the employees at Plaza Appliance Mart about their roles in the company, they’d say they’re not just employees, they’re family. So as you might imagine. a team of professionals like this who are already so tightly knit and bonded together make for a perfect partner with the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte. Apart from their community ties, Plaza Appliance is an accredited Better Business Bureau company with an A+ Rating.
Shop Eco-Friendly Kitchen Appliances at Plaza Appliance Mart
Stop by Plaza’s Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, or Pineville locations to see what a difference buying local with an experienced staff can make. Or shop eco-friendly kitchen appliances online! Our friendly experts are always happy to help you find energy-efficient, eco-friendly appliances — whether you call us at 704-568-7600, use our online chat feature, or visit us in person.