Energy-efficient appliances - For your home
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Puget Sound Energy
P.O. Box 97034
Bellevue, WA 98009-9734
pse.com/myrebates
4179 02/14
appliances
Energy-efficient
For your home
In this guide
4 Be a smart buyer
4 ENERGY STAR dishwashers
save time, money and energy
5 Premium-efficiency clothes washers
8 The best fridge is the one that
saves food and money
9 Get the most out of your air conditioner
9 Get the most out of your refrigerator and freezer
10 Cooking with energy-saving appliances
10 Getting the most out of your stove and oven
About Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy is Washington state’s oldest
local energy company. We serve 1.1 million electric
customers and more than 760,000 natural gas
customers in 10 counties. For more information, visit
pse.com. Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Be a smart buyer
When the time comes to buy new household appliances,
PSE recommends models that have earned the ENERGY
STAR® qualification. ENERGY STAR is a partnership
between government and industry that offers consumers
energy-efficient solutions, providing a trustworthy label on
over 40 product categories (and thousands of models) for
your home.
Qualified products should have the ENERGY STAR
prominently displayed for easy comparison. Look for the
yellow energy guide sticker attached to appliance models
on display. The energy guide shows the Energy Factor (EF)
and operating costs for the appliance, so you can easily
compare the efficiency and expense of different models.
ENERGY STAR dishwashers save time, Getting the most out of your dishwasher*
money and energy • Do not pre-rinse dishes.
• Use the air-dry option.
ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers have more efficient
motors, pumps, washing systems — everything really. • Use a rinse aid to help the dishes dry without spotting.
Many models have features that both improve cleaning • Fix cut or chipped plastic coating on racks to
and reduce demand on the hot water tank. By replacing a prevent rusting.
dishwasher manufactured before 1994 with an ENERGY • Twice a year, lift out the strainer from the bottom of your
STAR qualified dishwasher, you could save more than $25 dishwasher and clean it with warm soapy water and a
a year in energy costs, and $100 over the lifetime of the soft plastic scrub brush.
product in hot water costs.
• Never use regular dish washing liquid intended for hand
washing dishes.
• If you live in an area where the water is hard, you may
need to use more detergent. If you live in an area where
the water is soft and your dishes come out soapy after
they are washed, you may want to use less detergent.
*Check manual for recommended care. Tips for use may vary from
model to model.
Premium-efficiency clothes washers
7,000 gallons and $65 a year — those are the two big
savings that come from a premium-efficiency clothes
washer. And with savings comes versatility: Delicates, bulky
items, dry clean, premium efficiency can wash it all and are
available in top and front loading models:
Top loading
Top-loading models look like old-style models, but these
premium-efficiency clothes washers use different types
of washing actions to clean clothes with less water and
energy. Many have sensors to monitor incoming water
temperature closely. They also rinse clothes with repeated
high-pressure spraying instead of soaking them in a full tub
of water.
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• Clothes should dry in about 40 minutes to one hour.
The more clothes you put in, the longer it will take.
• Choose a permanent-press (cool-down) cycle. No heat
is supplied in the last few minutes, but drying continues
as cool air is blown through the tumbling clothes.
• Keep the dryer exhaust vent clear of shrubs, cobwebs
or lint, and follow the dryer exhaust vent cleaning
instructions in your owner’s manual. Check to see that
shutters on the dryer vent located on the outside of your
home move easily.
• Avoid stop-and-start drying and dry loads back-to-
back. Stopping the dryer for long periods of time in
between loads cools the dryer down, which then will
require more energy to warm up for other loads.
• When possible, use an outdoor clothesline or an indoor
drying rack. This not only saves energy, but it also
Front loading reduces wear and tear on your clothing.
*Check manual for recommended care. Tips for use may vary from
Front-loading models are similar to machines used in model to model.
commercial laundries. They use a horizontal or tumble-axis
basket to lift and drop clothing into the water instead of
rubbing clothes around a central agitator.
Both top-loading and front-loading premium-efficiency
clothes washers save water and energy. They also use
faster spin speeds to extract more water from clothes,
reducing dryer time and energy use.
Getting the most out of your clothes
washer and dryer*
• Washing with lower temperatures is a great way to lower
your energy use. To maximize your energy savings,
wash and rinse in cold water.
• Match the water level to the size of your load. Don’t fill
the whole tub for a few items.
• You may be using up to six times as much detergent
than needed. Using too much detergent will cause your
machine to create excessive suds and will make the
machine work harder.
• Contact your water utility to find out if you have hard
or soft water. Your appliance manual will tell you how
much detergent you need for your water type.
• Before you purchase a new clothes washer, check
pse.com or call 1-800-562-1482 to learn about rebates
from PSE for premium-efficiency clothes washers.
• If you can, use the moisture sensor option on your dryer
so the machine automatically shuts off when the clothes
are dry.
• Clean the lint screen after each use. Lots of lint
reduces efficiency.
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The best fridge is the one that saves Get the most out of your air
food and money conditioner*
Choose ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators Quit blowing away money. Upgrade and save
and freezers
Save up to $14 per year on your electric bill by replacing
How much free space is in your fridge? Is it always full? A your air conditioner with a new ENERGY STAR qualified
little empty, maybe? You should be asking yourself these unit. Improved compressors and insulation allow these air
questions if you’re thinking about buying a new one, which conditioners to run silently with 10 percent less energy
should be about every 15 years. Consider ENERGY STAR than conventional models.
qualified refrigerators if you’re in the market. ENERGY Before you buy a new air conditioner, assess your room
STAR fridges require about half as much energy as models size and match the size of the room to the appropriate
manufactured before 1993 and are more efficient than BTU-per-hour output. Room construction, climate and
required by current federal standards. other factors may also affect your choice.
They also have highly efficient gizmos and gadgets that If you are considering central air conditioning or cooling
improve insulation, reduce energy consumption, and your home with a heat pump, look for ENERGY STAR
they’re quieter and generate less heat than conventional qualified products or call a PSE Energy Advisor at
models. ENERGY STAR qualified freezers use at least 1-800-562-1482.
10 percent less energy than required by current federal
*Check manual for recommended care. Tips for use may vary from
standards, too. model to model.
If you’re shopping around, keep in mind that manual defrost
refrigerators are generally more efficient than automatic Get the most out of your refrigerator
defrost models.
and freezer
• Ditching old or rarely used fridges or freezers is one big
way to lower your electric bills and conserve energy.
• Fridge temperatures should be between 34 and 40
degrees. Check your refrigerator’s coolness by putting
a kitchen thermometer in a jar of water then leaving it in
your refrigerator overnight. To test your freezer, just stick
a thermometer in it overnight. The freezer should be
between 0 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
• A freezer with nothing to freeze is wasteful, so keep it
full. If your freezer space is underused, fill empty milk
jugs or other plastic containers with water and place
them in your freezer. The fuller it is, the better is retains
cold, and it won’t need to work as hard.
• Yes, we recommend vacuuming your refrigerator. Well,
the coils at least, which can be found underneath or on
the back of the fridge. Dust build-up can cause stress
to the appliance, increasing wear and tear on the motor
as well as increasing your energy usage.
• Defrost your freezer if ice build-up is more than half an
inch thick.
• Check the door gasket once in a while to make sure the
seal isn’t damaged or blocked by debris.
• Keep at least two inches of space around the
refrigerator for good air circulation.
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• Use drip pans under conventional coil burners and
keep them clean. Don’t line drip pans with aluminum
foil because they will reflect too much heat and could
damage the elements.
• If you have a natural gas stove, check the pilot light or
burner flame.
• When natural gas burns properly, it should have a blue
flame. If the flame is yellow, the ports could be clogged
and may need to be cleaned or adjusted.
Ovens
• Preheat the oven for five minutes before baking.
• Check your oven temperature by using a separate oven
thermometer.
• Make sure the oven door seal is tight.
• Try not to open the oven door while baking.
• Check to see if your refrigerator has an energy-saving
anti-sweat switch. When switched on, this switch keeps • Turn the oven off a few minutes before the food is ready
condensation from gathering near door seals, especially and let the left over heat finish the job.
during hot weather. You’ll save energy by keeping the • Use a microwave oven if possible. Microwaves can
switch off during cooler parts of the year. use one-third to one-half as much energy as
• Avoid running frost-free refrigerators in environments conventional ovens.
where the air temperature is below 60 degrees • Never use your oven to heat your home.
Fahrenheit, unless it is specifically designed for these
conditions. At lower temperatures, the air compressor
may not run very well, leading to a lack of cooling in the
freezer compartment.
Cooking with energy-saving appliances
Even though ENERGY STAR does not label cooking
appliances, such as stoves and ovens, there are many
options currently available if you’re looking to buy new
appliances.
One thing to keep in mind is how often you cook for a
crowd. If you entertain, look for at least one high-powered
element or burner and a large oven. High-heat burners can
be useful for searing, stir-frying or heating large quantities,
while ranges with convection ovens will often speed
roasting.
Getting the most out of your stove
and oven
Stoves
• Use the burner that is closest to the size of your
pan or pot.
• Speed up cooking time, and use less energy, by
using lids on pots and pans.
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