Efficient appliance shopping guide for your new home

Back in the 80s and 90s Kiwi TV presenter Steve Parr would close his Sale of the Century show with the words “Let’s Go Shopping!” and a lucky contestant would get to take home a pile of goodies. We can’t benefit from those game show giveaway price tags, but a helpful guide on shopping for efficient appliances will help you make informed choices.

That little red and white star sticker commonly displayed on most major household appliances is an Energy Rating label. It’s worth taking a closer look at these and knowing what they mean. To compare one model with another, the rule of thumb is that the higher the number of stars in the red zone the more energy efficient it is. The black number in the centre indicates annual energy consumption in kilowatt hours (kWh).

How you heat your rooms can vary depending on the outside temperature, for example, the running costs in Central Otago will be different from those in Kaitaia. It seems there’s a consensus on the most efficient room heating options, but there can be alternatives depending on which part of the house you’re looking to warm up.

Heat pumps and wood burners both get the thumbs up for cost and performance. Factoring in household habits and the room in question can alter the scorecard. A small office or nursery will be adequately heated from a plug-in electric heater.

As the most popular family hangout, lounges are larger and need an efficient heater. This is where heat pumps are the star of the show, as well as in other heavy use areas where power consumption is more demanding.

If you want to keep the heat you’re paying for inside the house, there are some good choices you can make. Many of the advantages of heat pumps, wood burners and other forms of home heating will be lost if you haven’t got the house set up to retain the heat they produce efficiently.

You could save considerable amounts on your heating bills if you have good insulation, double glazing and draft stoppers, as well as sticking to good habits like closing curtains when the sun goes down.

Setting up timing switches and regulating appliances to maintain sensible temperatures, along with common sense like only heating the room being used, are also sensible strategies.

In 1927 when General Electric’s first practical, efficient and affordable fridge rolled off production lines, Americans were immediate converts. We’ve come a long way and what’s on offer in the 21st century is a huge leap forward. But not all refrigerators are created equal.

Upgrading your fridge introduces a wide range of sizes, colours and add-on features. Think about how you currently use your fridge and what you want it to handle in the future. Organisations like Genless and Consumer also publish comprehensive guides to help you.

Some things to think about:

• Dimensions – will it fit the space it’s going into and have the interior capacity to store everything I need?
• Configuration of doors – do you want side-by-side, vertical or top over bottom?
• Energy efficiency – how much will it cost to run and what’s the star rating?
• Who makes the most reliable and price-to-performance models?
• What are the extra features? Check on options like ice and cold water dispensers, freshness aids, shelf and drawer adaptability, windows, and even links to smartphone technology, Wi-Fi and cameras to remotely check on fridge contents while you’re at the supermarket!

As the ultimate ‘dirty dishes cupboard’, the dishwasher can probably be credited for reducing the number of arguments in the average Kiwi household.

Before any kitchen has one, there can be heated discussions around who’s responsible and how dishes are to be washed, dried and put away.

A model that’s water and energy-efficient will help keep down costs.

Bear in mind, the kind of punishment the dishwasher is going to get will indicate which model to opt for. A dishwasher not fit for purpose can use more water than you need, so running it without a full load of dishes isn’t economical.

Older dishwashers could triple the amount of water used in a full cycle, while newer models have options to heat their own water making them far more energy efficient. There’s a variety of timed wash cycles from eco to heavy-duty, ensuring that you can select what’s right for you. This can help control energy efficiency and cost at the touch of a button.

The time of day you run it also has an impact so check your power bill – does your power company offer a cheaper off-peak early morning or late evening rate? If so, fill up the dishwasher and set its timer to start up at these lower cost times of day.

Washing machine purchases start with a fundamental question: Top or front loader? Both have their pros and cons and will come with a range of energy ratings to guide you on the appliance best for you.

Your second consideration is to assess the household demands on machine use. A single person living alone will likely use their machine far less often than a family with four sports mad kids.

No surprises that cold water cycles for both will save on power consumption. However, the jury is in and front loaders are the literal “star performer” easily edging out top loaders for energy efficiency.

New front load models have a range of features focussed on saving water, timers to work off-peak and lower spin speeds.

Check the Energy Rating label or jump on the EECA site and compare the options for a washing machine that will tick the boxes for affordability, running cost and capacity to handle the job.

In a diverse, complex and sometimes very damp climate like New Zealand’s, clothes dryers are a welcome addition to any household - especially in winter and spring. The better specifications that new models have isn’t just hot air – from a variety of load weight and material-specific settings to timers and sensors, there’s greater efficiency at getting linen toasty warm.

However, the dryer specs are only half the story. There are plenty of good habits that will improve efficiency and performance.

• Make sure linen has been well spun in the washing machine first
• Dry with a full load but don’t stuff too full
• Sort garments by material types
• Untangle items to evenly spread the load
• Set the dryer to come on at off-peak power times
• Clean lint and dirt from filters regularly to prevent restricted air flow.

New technology to reduce power consumption costs at home is constantly changing and included in more new homes. Being strategic about your home’s power consumption changes the game for energy efficiency in the 21st century.

Smart thermostats

These control heating and intuitively respond to the conditions, and you can also use networks like Amazon Alexa, Google Home or your smartphone to remotely turn things up, down or off.

Smart plugs

These can be turned on and off remotely with their built-in energy monitoring features that show how much power plugged in devices are using. Again, these can be set up to respond to Alexa and other smart home networks.

Energy saving apps

Apps on your smartphone include those to connect you and monitor consumption with your power company. There are many apps to give you information about the usage of your home appliances, to set and control timers and to monitor meter readings.

Smart and eco appliances

Many modern appliances make a positive contribution with remote operation, intuitive technology and energy consumption feedback. Particularly helpful given appliances make up a huge proportion of overall household usage. Make sure if you’re buying a smart appliance that you familiarise yourself with all the bells and whistles to get maximum benefits.

A higher price tag on an appliance won’t necessarily mean that its running costs are more cost-efficient.

A useful calculator breaking down how much you’ll pay to run the appliance annually, factoring in capacity, size, dimensions and energy rating, is incredibly helpful in making sure you are comparing apples with apples.

There are plenty of affordable appliances that perform well from an energy-efficient perspective. Before you even leave home and head for the store, do some research on how your everyday needs match with the appliance you’re about to buy.