Home Appliances
Featured Articles:
Home Appliances, Select Them On Price Or Energy
Efficiency?
by: Hans Dekker
For many people, price is the most important consideration when
buying appliances. What they forget, however, is that there are two
prices for anything which consumes power, the buying price and the
running price. Buying appliances with energy efficiency in mind may
cost more up front but save you money in the long run.
Most modern appliances like refrigerators and washing machines carry
a label indicating their energy efficiency. Products which use the
least amount of power are qualified to use the “Energy Star” label.
This is a government backed program aimed at providing consumers and
businesses information about saving energy.
In order to be labelled ,energy efficient, a product must meet
certain criteria. For example, refrigerators must use 15% less
electricity than the minimum standard set by the federal government.
Office equipment must automatically switch to a low-power sleep mode
after a certain period of inactivity.
Almost every major appliance such as air conditioners, freezers,
furnaces, and pool heaters qualify for the Energy Star label. Buying
an Energy Star product will save you money on your utility bills and
will be better for the environment. Using less electricity in the
home means less fossil fuel consumed by power producing plants, and
less greenhouse gas emissions.
Will an energy efficient product save you money? Absolutely! Each
product has a label which says how much energy it consumes. You can
use this information to figure out exactly how much power you will
save over the life span of the appliance. Factor in rising energy
costs and your savings are even more.
The energy efficiency of any product is dependent on the engineering
of the various parts that use power. For example, an air conditioner
has a circulation pump, a fan, and a motor to turn the blades, as
well as electronic components for controlling the temperature. Each
one of these can be designed to save energy, so the overall energy
efficiency is affected by the quality of these components.
Some local governments offer incentives for people to buy energy
efficient products. Be sure to get informed – you may qualify for
rebates or low interest loans to purchase these items.
About The Author
Hans Dekker is author of http://www.alternative-energy-guide.com/,
practical ideas and articles for "non-techies"
Buying Home Appliances The Smart Way
by: Duane Lipham
When you add up all the money that you can spend on home appliances
and fixtures it becomes obvious that you need to spend wisely and
carefully to keep costs under control. These items tend to be some
of the larger ticket purchases around the home and lots of money can
be wasted if buying isn't done properly.
One of the most important suggestions for buying appliances and
fixtures the smart way is to decide before you begin shopping
exactly how much money you wish to spend, or what will fit in your
budget. Surprisingly, this is often not done until the customer is
already in the store. Unfortunately, the heart often takes over when
looking over the latest high-tech gadgets and features on the item
being considered and results in the purchase of a much more
expensive item than is truly needed. So take some time to decide
exactly what your spending limit is before you even begin to shop
and then stick to your guns on that decision all the way through the
buying process.
It's also a good idea to research your buy before you start looking
at actual products themselves. These days there are many consumer
publications that help you make a wise choice on a broad range of
consumer items, including home appliances and fixtures. They
extensively test the major brands and give their unbiased opinions
on a wide variety of features and issues related to each product.
This is valuable information that can't be had almost anywhere else,
so take good advantage of it. You can find most of these
publications available for free at your local library. This kind of
research will also help you decide in advance exactly which features
are most important to you and which should be avoided as unnecessary
expenses, in other words, invest your hard-earned money into
essentials not features. Always opt for better quality over more
features too.
Don't just assume that buying locally is the smartest move either.
Sometimes, the same item can be found online at a much lower price
than is possible locally and you can often even avoid sales tax on
an online purchase too. Be careful though and determine how much
installation is needed for any item you make and factor installation
costs in with any purchase that doesn't include those costs in the
purchase price.
It may seem like a simple thing, but be sure to measure very
carefully to determine that the item you want to buy will fit in the
space that you have designated for it in your home. Surprisingly,
this is something that is often overlooked until the delivery of the
product and can result in plenty of unnecessary aggravation. Just
get the measuring tape out in advance and know the space required to
save this headache from happening to you.
Finally, consider the warranty on the items you want to buy. Be sure
to ask questions in advance so that you know what the warranty will
cover and how long it will last. Also, will you have to send the
appliance out to be repaired under warranty or is home repair
covered under the warranty contract?
If you follow these simple, effective guidelines, buying home
appliances and fixtures will be a breeze and you will make smart
purchases that will last and give you good service for many years.
About The Author
Duane Lipham is the senior editor of http://www.kitchens.dlbws.com
where you can find free information and advice on kitchen design and
finding the right kitchen products and appliances at the lowest
price possible.