Energy Vampires

>Jason: If you have taken all the advice on this site, changed windows and lights, added insulation, and put on a new AC, and still have high energy bills, there's a good chance that you may be using old appliances in your home. All the appliances in your house (water heater, refrigerator, washer and dryer, stove, etc) use some form of power, usually either electricity or natural gas. We often don't think about these things running up our power bill, and so often ignore them until they go out. This can be an expensive habit, because the older an appliance gets, the more expensive it becomes to operate. For example, replacing your refrigerator, while it may cost anywhere from $500 -2000 for a new one, may also save you as much as $100 per month. This would mean a payback on your expense of 1-2 years, which is well worth the money. Of course, the key is knowing when to replace the unit, and when it isn't cost-effective.

>Ken: Do you hear the sucking sound coming from your garage where the old refrigerator is keeping your favorite beverages cold? That's the sound of the money going to your utility when you could be using it to buy even more favorite beverages instead. If that appliance is older than about 10 years, you may want to consider replacing it. If it is an old dinosaur built when Thomas Edison was still finding new ways of using electricity, you may want to unplug it and sell it on Ebay. Then go find a new appliance with an energy star rating on it. You will not be sorry. Not only will it save energy, but you probably won't have to worry about it breaking down and destroying everything inside it before you discover what happened. Makes sense, right? That's why we say you need to be ... energy smart!