New refrigerators are usually more energy-efficient than older models. The time it takes to make your money back in energy savings varies, but could be as much as 20 years. — dpa
BERLIN: Many older household appliances are considered power guzzlers. The solution seems to be to replace them with modern versions – after all, they’re more energy-efficient.
But it’s actually not as simple as that. You need to consider not only the saving in electricity but also the impact on your wallet and the environment.
You want to save electricity? It’s worth upgrading
The power consumption of refrigerators has fallen continuously since the beginning of the 1990s, says Gerhild Loer from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer centre in Germany.
Thirty years ago a refrigerator with a freezer compartment commonly consumed 410 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year. A new appliance today uses on average 170 kWh per year – that’s a reduction of almost 60%.
In addition electricity consumption increases significantly the older the appliances become, Loer says. You should expect your appliance to consume around 1% more electricity per year of use.
You want to save money? It depends
Now it’s time to calculate how quickly the purchase costs of an energy-efficient appliance can be recouped by the electricity costs saved.
Manufacturers typically indicate on the energy efficiency label of new appliances how many kilowatt hours the model consumes on average per year.
The resulting electricity costs can be compared to the purchase price of the new appliance and the electricity costs for the old appliance.
Based on electricity prices in Europe, replacing a floor-standing refrigerator with a freezer compartment is only worthwhile after around 15 years, and in the case of the more expensive built-in appliances, only after 20 years.
Ina Rüdenauer, who researches sustainable products at the Öko Institut, an environmental organisation based in Germany, takes a similar view.
Replacement only makes sense for appliances that were purchased before the year 2000 or which had energy efficiency class B or worse under the European Union’s labelling system when it was purchased.
In the case of such refrigerators, from an ecological point of view the expert advises replacing them with a modern appliance in the best energy efficiency class. These are usually the more expensive models.
You want to save the planet? Keep your old appliances
According to the Öko Institut, it is almost always worthwhile from an environmental perspective to use a device that is still working for as long as possible. This is especially true for an already energy-efficient appliance that you bought recently or a few years ago.
After all, manufacturing new products is costly and consumes energy and other resources.
But what if an appliance is defective – is it better to have it repaired or get a new one? According to the Öko Institut, repairing high-quality appliances often makes more sense than buying a new one.
The situation is different for cheap models as the repair costs are often high compared to the purchase price of a new product.
The cost-effectiveness of repairs also depends on how long the appliance has been used. If a defect occurs in a high-quality device after just a few years, it usually makes more sense to have the device repaired and continue using it, Rüdenauer says.
But if the faulty appliance has almost reached its expected lifespan, it may be better to replace it with a new, energy-efficient one. – dpa
