Do 'Green' Appliances Live Up to Their Billing?

The Wall Street Journal
Energy-Efficient Devices Flood Market, but Some Owners Find Results Fall Short of Promises
By SARA SCHAEFER MUÑOZ
August 2, 2007

Amid concerns about energy consumption, Americans are increasingly encouraged to buy energy-efficient appliances. But while some of the latest products can offer significant energy and water savings, they can be double the price -- or have kinks that can result in clothes and dishes needing to be washed twice.

While most energy-saving appliances perform well, some can pose problems. For example, many consumers don't know they need to use high-efficiency soap or half the amount of regular detergent with front-loading clothes-washers.... Regular detergent creates extra suds in this type of washer, and is tougher to rinse. Also, the machine senses the suds and uses extra water, offsetting savings.

Environmental advocates point out that the biggest energy sucks aren't washing machines and dishwashers. Many consumers don't realize that an energy-guzzling plasma TV can off-set the energy-savings of kitchen appliances. A conventional TV consumes about 130 watts of power per hour, while a 42-inch plasma consumes more than twice as much, or around 350 watts per hour, according to Tom Reddoch, manager of energy use for the Electric Power Research Institute, a Palo Alto, Calif., nonprofit organization that promotes the adoption of energy-efficient practices. And one of the largest energy-savings measures is replacing light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use about 75% less energy than standard bulbs.

Energy-efficient builders and energy-saving advocates advise that if people want to upgrade to energy efficient appliances, they should focus first on refrigerators, because unlike a dishwasher or clothes washer, they run all the time.