For decades now, the onus of energy conservation has been pretty much placed upon the consumers of energy – the common folks.
There were great numbers of truly conscientious citizens who, in earnest, gave their very best efforts to cut back in every conceivable area of energy consumption, from learning to live a little bit chilly during the winter and a little bit sweaty during the summer, to foregoing watering of newly established lawns.
In spite of eager participants who gave their best efforts in the hopes of somehow creating a better world, leaving the responsibility to saving the planet to individuals proved altogether unsuccessful. The world still needs saving!
And while it is not a healthy practice to ever point fingers we can see a misappropriation of ecology changing power.
Placing Responsibility Where it Needs to Be, in Keeping With the Times
With a little bit of concentrated thinking, it would eventually become evident that the way to affect the greatest volume of consumers in the most powerful way would be to shift the responsibility of conserving and cutting back from them – especially as the times in which we now live are saturated in overt narcissism, everywhere you look.
And so, with the focus on operating in the utmost energy efficient manner possible, consumers everywhere can finally feel exonerated and gratefully return to shopping and guiltlessly selecting appliances based mostly upon how any given model might look in their kitchen.
Appliance manufacturers everywhere are now hiring innovative designers whose ever-evolving blueprints reveal an impressive magnitude of relentless hard work to outdo (and therefore outsell) all predecessors.
The Future of Improvement is Eternal
As history as illuminated, time and time again, it is always possible to improve on anything – and any method that exists under the sun. If this were not so, we would probably still be beating our wet clothes on the river rocks in order to clean them, and be forced to graze and hunt for our meals, with no need of any method of storage. When and if we cooked, it would be over a crudely constructed fire, and we wouldn’t need dishwashers, because we wouldn’t have any dishes to wash.
Thankfully, this is not the case. We are fortunate enough to be living during a time when man’s unceasing desire to surpass and compete has produced technological advancements that boggle the pre-21st century mind. All of every detail of human invention along the timeline now provides an incredibly streamlined existence for us all. What we now have are not only different incredibly efficient technologies, but also many choices from which we can choose in each category.
Listed here are seven of the most energy saving appliances you will currently find on the market, with a little info as to exactly what details went into helping to establish each one to earn its status within the appliance industry.
1. Refrigeration: The price you pay for your refrigerator may not be a very good reflection on what it’s actually going to wind up costing you, over its lifetime. The typical cost of running a refrigerator costs homeowners thousands of dollars over its lifetime. What this ultimately means is that you’re better off buying a state of the art fridge with its advanced energy efficiency than keeping your old one or buying what might seem to be a “deal.” Samsung has been chosen as the best over all brand, and in terms of technology regarding types, models with top freezers are known to be the most efficient of them all.
2. Gas Cooktops: In terms of energy savings, gas stovetops are not necessarily quite as efficient as electric induction cooktops; however Wolf makes a 36” gas cooktop that is ranked clearly above its rivals, with impeccable low-heat finesse. This means you use less gas when you need it, and don’t risk burning your delicate dishes and sauces. While the conventional cooktop offers a full five stacked burners, what you get are fewer spills, more cooking space and easier cleanup with a seamless stainless steel burner pan and porcelain coated cast iron grates designed so you can slide pots around, rather than lifting them. Wolf, like many of its competitors also offers a two-burner option for adding a bit of gas stovetop cooking to your entire kitchen configuration.
3. Electric Cooktops: Electric induction cooking has introduced an entirely new and unprecedented level of energy efficiency to stovetop cooking options. With induction cooking technology, all the heat is produced directly in the pan and not the cooktop, so most of the energy goes into heating the food. This is the main reason why induction cooking is more energy efficient than its predecessors. Induction cooking also heats the food much more rapidly, typically around 25 to 50% faster than anything else. A top leader that uses this technology is Bosch. One of Bosch’s best products is their 37” cooktop with 5 cooking zones featuring SpeedBoost. It has a 4,500 watt 12” dual element, an independent countdown timer, autochef function and a residual heat indicator–all within a stainless steel frame.
4. Dishwashers: You may be acquainted with KitchenAid for its kitchen mixers, but the KitchenAid Architect Series II KUDE70FX dishwasher has been rated as the very best dishwasher for its superior functionality, beautiful features and its extremely energy-efficient operation. It also offers an incredible array of wash cycles and wash options–with many being quite eco-friendly.
5. Ovens and Baking: There are two main forms of oven cooking that have forever changed cooking technology. The first one, while it’s been around a while, has only somewhat recently become available for home kitchens, is found in convection cooking. The entire baking/broiling processes are faster, more even and efficient than others. The second is the advent of steam functionality and all it brings to cooking. Combination steam and convection ovens are the way to go. Bosch makes several steam and convection wall ovens that install flush for a European kitchen design. By combining these different methods of cooking, you get an unparalleled level of energy efficiency.
6. Washing Machines: Shoppers for washers must first choose between top loading and front loading machines. Top loaders are the more energy efficient of the two. Both use less water in their wash cycles and they have higher speeds at which they spin. This helps to reduce drying time, as they extract more of the load’s water. One of the very top rated washers is the Maytag Maxima XL MHW7000AWf.
7. Clothes Dryers: A gas dryer will probably cost you more money upfront, however over the long run, you’ll save money. Gas dryer costs about half as much per load to operate. Smart dryers like Whirlpool’s smart dryer enable you to wirelessly transmit information between your dryer and your computer, phone or tablet. It also offers smart grid awareness. You can even toss in your wet laundry before going to bed, and this dryer will automatically detect when the overnight energy rates are at their lowest and run then, for unprecedented energy and money savings. Your smartphone will show you how much money you saved, too.
