Major appliances, such the stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and washer/dryer, can cost a lot of money to operate, up to almost one half of your energy bill.

Most appliances in a home, because of age or neglect, use energy inefficiently and can waste hundreds of dollars each year.

The following list is just a sample of how appliances can waste energy in a home:

• Placing refrigerators next to heat sources, such as direct sunlight or the oven.
• Inefficient appliances can release excess heat into the home, causing the air conditioner to use more energy.
• Dirty refrigerator coils on the back can waste up to 30% of the energy used by the appliance.
• Using the self clean feature of an oven more than necessary (e.g. more than once a month) will waste lots of energy.
• Using a dishwasher instead of hand washing uses less energy, unless you pre rinse your dishes with warm or hot water. Pre rinsing is often not necessary.
• Not completely filling a dishwasher with dirty dishes wastes energy.
• Washing and drying smaller loads of laundry wastes energy.
• Dirty or clogged lint traps and hoses reduce a dryers efficiency.