Vetting the Fridge: Is Your Appliance Lying to You?

Are your appliances fibbing to you about how much energy they're using?

It's possible. A recent Department of Energy audit found flaws in the Energy Star program. And that is causing some concern among consumers that electrical appliances like washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators may not be as efficient as they’re supposed to be.

The Energy Department said in a statement that a renewed partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency “will improve product testing and enforcement” for the Energy Star program. (Energy Star is a joint program of the Energy Department and the EPA.)

In the meantime, consumers hawkish about their energy consumption face a hurdle. Average consumers can’t assess the energy efficiency of their home appliances by themselves. (In most cases, sophisticated laboratory equipment and controlled environments are necessary to measure efficiency, or the percentage of total energy input to a machine that's consumed in useful work and not wasted.) “That’s not the kind of test a consumer can do at home,” says John Wilson, buildings program director at the Energy Foundation, a grant-making nonprofit based in San Francisco.

However, consumers worried about their appliances can take other measurements to assess whether they’re up to speed. 

Here are a few steps you can take to figure out how your appliance – Energy Star or not – is operating as it should:

1. Check how much energy your device should use when you buy it.
Most new major home appliances must meet criteria set by the Energy Department, and manufacturers are required to attach EnergyGuide labels to their appliances to give consumers important information about the energy use of the appliance. These bright yellow labels are supposed to help shoppers choose appliances that use less gas or electricity and cost less to operate. (Not all appliances have Energy Guide labels. Clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, window and central air conditioners and boilers have them. Clothes dryers, ovens and televisions do not.)

The label will give you two important pieces of information about your appliance: An estimate of how much electricity the appliance uses in a year based on typical use, and an estimated yearly operating cost based on the national average cost of electricity.

The electricty estimate will be more useful in checking up on your appliance. But note that that the yearly operating cost figure is only an average -- and true costs can vary widely based on where you live and where your power comes from. Say your refrigerator’s Energy Guide label says its yearly operating cost, based on a range of similar models, is $67. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll pay – or should be paying – that amount per year. This figure is just an estimate, based on a national average price for electricity. Your specific rate depends on where you live and how much you use the refrigerator, says Cliff Majersik, executive director of the Institute for Market Transformation, a nonprofit environmental organization.

2. Find out how much you pay for energy to run the device.
To see whether your usage falls in line with the Energy Guide’s parameters for this specific appliance, you’ll need to look at what you’re being charged to run it. You can find the rates you’re paying on your electric bill, which will likely include the average price per kilowatt hour for that billing period.

Say the Energy Guide label indicates an estimated yearly electricity usage of 630 killowatt hours; this is an estimate of how much electricity the refrigerator consumes in a year based on typical use. You can multiply that number by your local electricity rate to get a more accurate estimate of what your cost might be each month. Also keep in mind that “typical” might not describe your usage, says Steven Nadel, executive director of the nonprofit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. If you have a large family with several children, they’re likely opening and closing the refrigerator door frequently, and consume more energy.

Also, the Energy Guide label from your washer or air conditioner might be a few years old. The national average price of electricity and the cost estimate for a given device are updated every five years. Although this helps manufacturers base their estimated costs on the same electricity rate and usage patterns, it means that the rate used for Energy Guide labels won’t always reflect electricity prices at the time. If your air conditioner is a few years old, chances are the Energy Guide’s yearly cost estimate is based on lower electricity prices than you’re paying now, says Majersik.

3. Find out how much electricity the device is actually consuming.
Consumers can get an accurate read on how much any appliance in their home is costing them by using an electricity usage monitor, Majersik says.

There are a handful of products on the market; some measure individual devices and others measure the entire home's consumption. The Kill A Watt EZ, made by P3 International, measures the energy uptake of a single device. Plug an appliance into the monitor and the display screen shows its operating cost. It can count consumption by kilowatt hour, just like your utility company. It can also forecast expenses for the day, month or year.

Black & Decker has a similar device, called the Power Monitor, which also shows current energy usage in dollars and estimated monthly bills based on your local electricity rates.