Buying your kitchen appliances on a budget might seem as easy as seeking appliances at the best prices, but this isn’t always the best way of doing things. To truly run your kitchen appliances on a budget, it’s best to look at the long-term cost of the appliances you’re buying.
By seeking appliances with the best energy ratings, you can save yourself money in the long run; less efficient appliances are less economical and will end up costing more by making your energy bills soar.
Energy efficiency ratings
It’s easy to see which appliances are the most economical. All major electronic appliances are required by law to carry European Union energy labels. These are ranked by letter, with A++ being the most economical model on the market and G being the least. By choosing a good rating, you can make significant savings.
Energy consumption
Most appliances will also carry an energy consumption label. In the case of appliances like fridges or freezers that need to be active constantly, the energy labels display the appliance’s kW (kilowatt) consumption by hour. This gives you an idea of the energy bills you can expect to receive.
Appliances like washers and driers don’t need to be on constantly, so these are calculated a little differently. Their labels will give you a good idea of typical energy usage peruse. These are again measured in kWh but are calculated on how much energy a cotton cycle at 60°C (140°F) with a maximum load would use.
This basically shows you the maximum energy consumption of the appliance. It’s the same with your typical tumble drier, except the energy efficiency scale is calculated using the cotton dry cycle with a maximum load. Dishwashers are calculated in a similar way, meaning you know the maximum amount of energy you can expect it to consume.
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Ovens
Ovens are a little different. Their European Union energy label energy efficiency ratings are ranked only from A to G, rather than A++ to G. Energy consumption, however, is measured in the same way as other appliances, by kWh, so it’s easy to calculate how much energy you would use in cooking a typical meal.
Capacity and old appliances
Getting smaller appliances will only hike up your energy bills and you will probably have to do things more than once, depending on the size of your family and your general habits.
It’s also worth remembering that older appliances are already much less efficient than newer models. You’ll find that replacing an old fridge, freezer, or drier with a newer, more efficient model with a greater capacity will make a drastic difference to your bills. Adding a newer model to work alongside your old one is just going to increase them further.
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Integrated versions
Buying integrated appliances like fridge freezers or washer driers is also a great way to save money. Buying two separate appliances is, in almost all cases, going to cost more than buying one that can handle both tasks. There are also a good number of energy-efficient integrated appliances available on the market.
