Cooperative Living August 2022 - 25
SMART CONNECT
Cheap May Not Be Cheap
When it comes to energy efficiency, think about the long run
by Susan Gilbert, Contributing Columnist
T
he pressure of inflation these days
is making us all wonder whether
we should just buy things that are
good enough, rather than looking for
higher quality.
Major energy-use appliances may
be an important exception to that
intuitively appealing bias. When a
water heater goes out, why not just buy
the cheapest replacement? After all,
nobody sees it, so who cares?
There may be very little difference
between the cheapest and the most
efficient water heater or air conditioner,
but these devices use much more than
their purchase prices in energy.
In fact, because most of them last
more than 10 years, consider their
operating cost in your buying decision.
Take the savings estimates for each
of your alternatives and look for the
differences. Multiply these by 10 to
estimate the full value of increased
efficiency.
Almost all major appliances now
CASE STUDY
For example, say the least-efficient
air conditioner costs $500 to cool your
home for a typical summer and the best
unit available would drop those costs to
$400. You could justify paying $1,000
more for the more efficient air unit
because it delivers 10 years of saving
$100 each year.
Heat Pump Calculator
Describe your home
Estimate the Annual Costs of your Home Heating & Cooling Energy Use
Annual Heating & Cooling Costs
have yellow tags on them estimating
these costs. In fact, they often show the
savings available with higher-efficiency
alternatives.
Another way to estimate savings is
with the online energy analysis tools
available in your local cooperative's
Energy Resource Center. Below left is
an example that helps members compute
the likely cost savings of having a
higher-efficiency heat pump.
EXTRA ADVANTAGES
Higher efficiencies also help
reduce the carbon dioxide emissions
associated with the operation of
these devices. And they tend to
be better built, so they may last a
little longer.
Another advantage is if you are
thinking about selling your home,
high-efficiency appliances will
help you sell more quickly and at
a higher price.
While we are at it, we hope
you all have installed light-emitting
diode lights to replace your
incandescent and have noticed that
they save money and last longer,
even in comparison to the curly
compact fluorescent lamps.
Adjust your fuel rates
Susan Gilbert is CEO of Apogee
Interactive Inc., which works with
many Virginia and Maryland electric
cooperatives on energy analysis and
member satisfaction.
co-opliving.com
August 2022 ● Cooperative Living ●
23
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living August 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living August 2022
Cooperative Living August 2022 - 1
Cooperative Living August 2022 - 2
Cooperative Living August 2022 - 3
Cooperative Living August 2022 - 4
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