Energy Star appliance shopping

This past month Consumer Reports published their reviews of home appliances like refrigerators, freezers, and washing machines, including a good amount of information about Energy Star along the way.  One of the articles points out that appliance energy guides and ratings often over-promise the product's efficiency (like in this Frigidaire ad from 1933?).  Currently there is no third party certification for Energy Star claims, but I've heard that this will soon change:  sorry, no more gas-powered alarm clocks!  In the meantime, take any appliance's energy guide numbers with a grain of salt.  Whether the Energy Star rating on my new Maytag fridge is accurate or not, I'll definitely use fewer kWh than the ~1000 per year my 20+ year old Whirlpool was burning.

If you're in the market for a new appliance, cash in on these rebates offered by BGE's Smart Energy Savers program:

Get $50 rebate for buying an Energy Star appliance
http://conservation.bgesmartenergy.com/sites/default/files/BGE_Appliance_Rebate_Finalv2_1%2B25%2B10.pdf

Get $50 for recycling your old refrigerator
http://conservation.bgesmartenergy.com/residential/lighting-appliances/refrigerator-freezer-recycling

The main Energy Star website is here: www.energystar.gov

Did you know that clothes dryers are not rated by Energy Star?  here's why

Calculate how much you could save by recycling your old refrigerator and getting a new Energy Star model here 

When it comes to modern refrigeration, we've come a long way, baby... here's an interesting article from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers about the history of refrigeration and cooling.

http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/may00/features/coolstory/coolstory.html

Thanks to Liza at Pine Street Art Works for the Frigidaire ad image and ASME article used in this post.  Check out her lovely blog here http://seesaw.typepad.com/blog/2008/05/frigidaire-ge-the-thirties.html