When you are remodeling on a budget, it is incredibly tempting to just buy the absolute cheapest builder-grade appliances you can find at the big box stores to save a few hundred bucks upfront. But I wanted to see if buying the slightly more expensive Energy Star certified models actually saves you money in the long run.
I spent last night looking at the yellow EnergyGuide labels on a few different dishwashers and clothes dryers, and here is what I found out:
Dishwashers: The difference in yearly electricity and water costs between a cheap $350 model and a more efficient $550 model is only about $15 to $20 a year. It takes almost ten years just to break even on the price difference.
Clothes Dryers: Since dryers use a massive amount of pure heat, the high-efficiency heat-pump models actually save a ton of power around $70 a year compared to standard cheap electric dryers. You break even in less than three years.
My conclusion? Don’t just blindly buy “green” appliances thinking they will save your budget instantly. Do the math on how often you actually use the specific appliance first.