When a "refrigerator" might not actually refrigerate

Interesting item on the Consumer Ally page over at WalletPop about a 1.7-cubic-foot compact "refrigerator" sold by Sears. Wondering why there are quotes around the word "refrigerator"? According to the post, the "Galaxy White 1.7 cu. ft. Compact Refrigerator" (model #91772), which Sears calls a "thermoelectric refrigerator [that] chills your food without noise and vibration" and describes as having "no harmful refrigerants," isn't really a refrigerator after all.

Consumer Ally writer Mitch Lipka notes that a complaint he received from a consumer about this compact appliance "brought to the surface issues with the idea that this is really not a refrigerator. It's really a place to keep your lunch or a soda cold for a while. Purchasers, even on Sears' own site, shared concerns for its lack of cooling power."

Check out the rest of this story on Consumer Ally, a good read by Lipka, the Boston Globe's Consumer Alert columnist.

And if you're in the market for a compact refrigerator for home, work, or a college dorm, use our free buyer's guide to these appliances. Remember, the largest compacts we tested hold only about one-quarter as much as a typical full-sized refrigerator; the smallest hold one-tenth as much. And none were tops at both refrigerating and freezing.—Steven H. Saltzman | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: See our ratings of compact refrigerators (available to subscribers) to find the right model for your needs. And learn about the federal government's $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, also known as cash for clunkers for appliances.

Want to start a debate? Bring up the subject of drying laundry on clotheslines

Health-care reform is an important and hotly debated national issue these days. While certainly not as pressing as health care, the subject of hanging laundry out to dry is something many people seem just as passionate about.

Consider the comments to our June 2009 post "Are Clotheslines Making a Comeback? 'Right-to-Dry Movement' Promotes Their Use" and those in response to The New York Times' recent engaging online debate "Rethinking Laundry in the 21st Century."

Right-to-dry-ers tout clotheslines and the like as tried-and-true energy savers that leave laundry smelling great. Some folks are skeptical about the practice, wondering whether line drying will leave their clothes feeling crunchy and questioning the added time it might take to dry their laundry. Those opposed to clotheslines feel they muck up their neighborhoods.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average American household uses about 11,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, with the typical electric clothes dryer consuming about 900 kWh—around what the average washing machine uses and slightly less than a typical refrigerator does.

If you're not ready to dry your laundry on a clothesline or on racks, follow these steps to cut back on dryer-related energy use:
• Use an automatic cycle for drying. This cycle will call on the dryer's moisture sensor, which automatically turns off the machine when the laundry is done. The sensor will work even if you select the less or more dry option.
• Remove the lint from the filter after every load. Built-up lint can reduce air circulation and make your dryer run longer. What's more, lint can clog the dryer vent, where it poses a significant fire hazard.
• Dry lightweight laundry in one load and heavier items, like towels and jeans, in another.—Kimberly Janeway | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Give us your thoughts on clotheslines and line drying by posting a comment below. And if you're in the market for new laundry or other appliances, read about the U.S. Department of Energy's $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, otherwise known as cash for clunkers for appliances.

Buzzword: Clunkernomics

What it means? This mashup of clunker and economics is inspired by the 2005 book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. The most notable example of clunkernomics is the Car Allowance Rebate Program, or cash for clunkers, which spurred car sales over its run last summer.

Why the buzz? Cash for clunkers has plenty of imitators in programs whose model consists of consumers trading in an old product for a new, presumably more-efficient, one. One next-gen example of clunkernomics is the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. The federal government’s cash for clunkers for appliances initiative, details of which are still being worked out by the U.S. Department of Energy, will give you a rebate of up to $250 per appliance on the purchase Energy Star-qualified models. Note: You likely won’t have to trade in your old dishwasher, refrigerator, or washing machine when you buy a new one.

Private enterprise is dipping its toes into clunkernomics, too, including a program centered around lighting. Philadelphia-based LED Saving Solutions announced last week that it will offer a $10 rebate per lightbulb for high-efficiency LED bulbs. “We see this initiative as a way to take the momentum created by the federal government to a new level and make a dramatic impact in our collective goal to make America more energy independent,” said Charlie Szoradi, president of LED Saving Solutions.

As clunkernomics expands, perhaps “clunker hangover” will set in, and maybe the cash-for-clunkers model has jumped the shark. After all even a New York City FM-radio station has its own clunkers deal. The WPLJ Web site says, “The government thinks a clunker is an old beat up gas guzzler. But here at ‘PLJ a clunker is a terrible song that somehow became a hit!” After a clunker airs, the 25th caller wins $5,000. Recent musical clunkers include “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” by Bobby McFerrin and “We Built This City,” by Jefferson Starship.

But Jack Hidary, the chairman of SmartTransportation.org who is credited as being the driver behind the automotive version of cash for clunkers, isn’t concerned. “I’m happy about all the copycats,” he says. “Let’s move our country away from rampant consumerism to a focus on the utility and the efficiency of products.”—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential reading: When you're ready to replace you're appliances, be sure to check out the free buying guides on our appliances hub and learn about the best places to buy appliances. Save up to $1,500 on your annual utility bills, read our reports on pellet stoves and solar water heaters, and find out which compact fluorescent lightbulbs top our ratings (available to subscribers).

Q&A: Should we replace our old refrigerator?

We recently moved, and our refrigerator seems a dinosaur. Will we save money by replacing it with a comparably sized new model?

As we covered in "Cash for Clunkers Moves to Appliances. Money Back for Your Old Kelvinator?" now might be a good time to buy a new refrigerator and take advantage of the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. (Read our survey-based report to find the best places to buy appliances.)

With their better compressors, improved insulation, and precise controls and defrost mechanisms, today's refrigerators typically use about a quarter of the energy of similar models built in the 1970s. What's more, motor wear, dirty coils, leaky gaskets, and other issues make refrigerators less efficient over time. While proper maintenance can extend the life and efficiency of your refrigerators, if yours is more than 10 years old, chances are you'll save by upgrading to a more energy-efficient model.
Use the Energy Star program's Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator to get an estimate of how much you can save by replacing an old model with a new one. You'll need to do some legwork to get a more-detailed comparison.

To find out how much energy your current refrigerator uses, check the nameplate, usually located on an interior surface of the refrigerator, say on a door frame. The nameplate will probably list the model number and a manufacturing date. Note that for some brands the date is encoded into the serial number. (For GE appliances, for instance, if the second letter is Z, the refrigerator was made in 2000, 1988, or 1976. The GE Web site has details.)

Once you have the model number and manufacturing date, check the manufacturer's site or do a Web search. After Googling "1989 Sub-Zero 561," one Consumer Reports editor with that built-in found a site with spec sheets for his model. The 20-year-old appliances uses 795 kilowatt hours. A comparable new Sub-Zero 36-inch side-by-side uses 602 kWh.

Otherwise, use an energy monitor, or watt meter, to determine how much energy your refrigerator consumes each day. These devices cost $25 to $100, although you might be able to borrow one from a friend or even your local library.

To compare they energy use of your current model to that of new models you're considering, refer to the EnergyGuide label, which you'll seen in stores and often on manufacturer and retailer sites.

Once you've selected a new model, you can donate your old working one or properly dispose of it. Many retailers offer free haul-away of old appliances, so ask about removal at the store. To find out how to get rid of a major appliance, go to Earth911.com or contact your municipal public-works department. For more details on recycling, go to to this page at EnergyStar.gov.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out our refrigerator buyer's guide, which provide shopping tips and ratings and brand-repair history (available to subscribers) of dozens of models.

Real energy—and financial—savings start at home

Given the American infatuation with the automobile, you might think that cars and trucks use the most energy in this country. But it turns out that driving is not the biggest energy hog.

The American home consumes the most energy, according to the Energy Information Administration, which says that of the nearly 100 quadrillion Btu the U.S. burned through in 2008, roughly 22 percent of that was consumed by residential buildings, compared with 17 percent by automobiles. While the American car industry has been taken to task for not having prioritized fuel efficiency, U.S. home builders have been just as negligent.

"It's embarrassing," says Chandler von Schrader, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Improve Your Home's Energy Efficiency with Energy Star. "We have this enormous housing stock and it's in generally poor condition because most of the homes were built before energy was a real concern."

The good news is that most homes—including yours—can be made more efficient, lowering your utility bills and national energy consumption alike. In fact, residential energy use would decline 22.5 percent if the roughly 120 million homes built before 2000 were made as efficient as those built since then, according to "The State of the Nation's Housing 2009," from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. For individual homeowners, that translates into annual savings of up to $1,500. Use our four strategies to cut your household-energy use.

While nothing on the order of the $3 billion cash-for-clunkers program for cars exists for homes, Uncle Sam has created financial incentives aimed at residential energy efficiency. For example, we've been reporting on the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. Our newly launched Energy Saving & Green Living guide contains other helpful information, including tips for buttoning up the exterior of your home, an update of the latest energy tax credits, and advice for choosing energy-efficient refrigerators, washing machines, and other appliances.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Tip of the Day: Freeze summer fruits and vegetables

With recent projections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicating that prices for "food at home"—that's all the stuff you buy at supermarkets, farmers' markets, and convenience stores—will rise 2 to 3 percent this year and 2.5 to 3.5 percent in 2010, you might be more inclined to buy a stand-alone freezer, figuring that freezing food that you buy in bulk or cook in big batches might save you some money.

See our September 2009 report on freezers for news on and ratings of the latest models (ratings available to subscribers) and read our free buyer's guide for freezers and shopping advice for refrigerators. (The photo shows freezer testing in our labs.)

Now's also a great time to freeze summer produce in your refrigerator's freezer or stand-alone freezer, whether it's the bounty from your own garden or fruits and vegetables you pick up or at local farm stands.

Some vegetables aren't freezer friendly because they become limp and soggy when thawed. The do-not-freeze list includes celery, endive, lettuce, parsley, radishes, and nonmarinated cabbage and cucumbers, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, which offers advice on freezing dozens of different foods. You'll learn other ways to freeze fruits and vegetables and prevent freezer burn and odors from permeating produce with this advice from the University of Minnesota Exentsion. Cook's Illustrated also offers a PDF with step-by-step freezing information.

Once you've prepared your food for freezing, keep the freezer temperature at 0°F or lower, since foods lose their quality faster when stored at higher temperatures. Place produce in the coldest spot in the freezer and next to refrigerated surfaces. And leave a little space between packages to allow the air to circulate. After the food has frozen, pack it more closely together, which frees up space for more items.—Kimberly Janeway | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Learn more about the federal government's State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, aka cash for clunkers for appliances.

Cash for clunkers moves to appliances. Money back for your old Kelvinator?

Will this fall's federal rebate do for home appliances and heating and cooling systems what the Car Allowance Rebate System—aka cash for clunkers—has done for cars and trucks? The appliance industry certainly hopes so: Sales of dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines—the three appliances covered by the appliance-rebate program—have been off by some 25 percent from their peak during the last housing boom.

As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Obama administration is encouraging the purchase of energy-efficient appliances through the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, which will dole out amounts that could reach $200 per appliance if you buy Energy Star-qualified models.

Appliances that qualify for Energy Star use roughly 10 to 25 percent less energy than the maximum allowed for that category by the U.S. Department of Energy, which runs Energy Star with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Watch the video here on our latest tests of water- and energy-efficient dishwashers at right.)

Unlike cash for clunkers, you won't have to turn in your old appliance to get a rebate. But states are expected to have recycling plans for the flood of old appliances the program could unleash. And while the money is coming from Washington, how much you get for which appliance will be a state-by-state decision.

State energy offices must detail the amount of the rebates for each appliance category and their plan for recycling old appliances by October 15. The money will be divided via a formula in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that is largely based on state population. For example, California, with a population of nearly 37 million, will receive just over $35 million, while Alaska's 686,000 inhabitants will get $658,477.

Combining the soon-to-be enhanced state incentives with those from federal government and local utilities can yield significant savings. We've detailed how you can combine these specific incentives on appliances, solar-, wind-, and geothermal-energy technologies, and air-conditioning systems.

You can save even more with these recently published appliance-buying tips from more than 25,000 Consumer Reports subscribers. We've also got ratings (available to subscribers) of 16 major appliance retailers and a wide range of appliances.—Bob Markovich | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Our ratings of air conditioners, dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines (available to subscribers) detail the best blends of efficiency and performance in our tough tests, which are typically more stringent than the federal government's. Our ongoing tests have also shown that some Energy Star models use more energy than their EnergyGuide labels suggest. Watch this story from CNN, which features Consumer Reports Home Editor Bob Markovich talking about the appliance-rebate program. And read our FAQ on the State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, aka cash for clunkers for appliances.

SiteSeeing: ApplianceRepair.com offers useful how-to troubleshooting tips for home appliances

Stuck with a leaky, noisy, bouncy, smelly, or otherwise underperforming appliance? The folks at RepairClinic.com, who have helped us with "Can This [fill in the blank] Be Saved?" sidebars on refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, and other household gear, has a new site that provides even more sage appliance-repair advice for DIYers. (We haven’t tried out any of the repairs, so use your judgment to determine whether the you want to proceed with the recommended fixes.)

At the heart of ApplianceRepair.com are dozens of transcripts of the site's Sunday-morning radio show with host John Sowden (shown). Each transcript is quite effectively divided into detailed descriptions and savvy solutions to problems like:

• Musty, noisy, or dancing washing machines.

• The balky top burner on a Kenmore range.

• Refrigerator lightbulbs that won't stay lit.

• Enigmatic error codes for GE electric ranges.

• Cures for a shaky garbage disposer. See our buyer's guide to garbage disposers.

The entire archive is keyword searchable, so you might be able to find your specific model. If it's not covered, there's still plenty of good general information available; Sowden is very good at describing how each appliance works as he queries callers about particular problems.

And he often comes up with cost-effective fixes users should try before an expensive replacement. Examples include heating lemon juice in a microwave to banish the smell of popcorn and replacing a refrigerator's low-cost cooling fan rather than an expensive compressor.

If you don't find an answer there, check our stories on excessive vibration and mold in front-loading washing machines and preventing dryer fires in and installing proper venting for clothes dryers.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: You might be able to avoid these repairs by picking the recommended models in our appliance ratings. Our own appliance-maintenance advice, repair-or-replace timelines (available to subscribers), and our members' applicance-buying strategies will help you get the most value for your money.

By the Numbers: Energy-efficiency investments would pay huge dividends, says McKinsey & Company report

$1.2 trillion

Amount U.S. consumers and businesses could save by 2020 by boosting their energy efficiency, according to "Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy," a new report from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. (The report covers nontransportation energy use.)

Under current conditions, the United States wastes more energy each year than Canada consumes. Our nearly 130 million homes, many of which lose energy to leaky ductwork, underinsulated attics, and inefficient appliances, account for roughly 35 percent of the potential energy-efficiency gains, says the report. (You can make your old windows less drafty by caulking gaps, as shown. And use a programmable thermostat to boost your household-energy savings.)

As the report details, an initial investment of $520 billion would be needed to reduce annual energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020, which translates into $1.2 trillion in savings and an end-use reduction of 9.1 quadrillion British thermal units.

Those savings are key, because worldwide energy use is projected to soar over the next two decades, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. The EIA says energy use will reach 678 quadrillion Btu in 2030.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Pinpoint the biggest energy savers and energy hogs in this report on residential energy use. If you're in the market for new appliances, use our free buyer's guides to find the most-efficient washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, and air conditioners in the Consumer Reports ratings. And learn more about weatherization.

Back-to-School Appliance-Buying Guide

Hard times don't mean college students have to give up healthful, tasty food. These appliances will come in handy whether your son or daughter lives in a dorm or an off-campus apartment. And while this gear won't turn your college-age cooks into an Iron Chef, it can save them some money and add variety and spice to their diet. (Suggested reading for rising college students worried about packing on the pounds during freshman year: "Fast Food Nearby: Convenience, But at What Cost?" )

Be sure to check your school's guidelines about appliances, and see the rest of our back-to-school coverage.

Compact Refrigerators

The "dorm-room refrigerator" moniker shows how closely compact refrigerators have become identified with college life, but only some of the models we tested made the grade. Many models have a single temperature-control dial, so you can't find an ideal temperature between the refrigerator and freezer sections. And all that we tested for this report are comparative energy hogs.

Only two refrigerators we tested had freezer sections that were able to keep frozen confections from turning to mush, and the 3.7-cubic-foot Avanti 308YWT, $200, flunked basic refrigeration. Choose the 4.6-cubic-foot Frigidaire FRC05L5D, $150, if your student will be a frequent frozen-food diner. Tell your kid to discard frozen foods that have been stored above 40°F for more than two hours, and print out these food-storage tips for him or her.

If you're willing to sacrifice capacity and freezing ability, the 2.5-cubic-foot capacity Sanyo SR-2570M, $130, combined reasonable performance and capacity with quiet operation; it also falls within the size limits imposed by many colleges. The 1.8-cubic-foot Haier HSA02, $100, the only recommended small cube-sized model, performed the best by far as a refrigerator and was quiet.

See the ratings (available to subscribers) for full details.

Coffeemakers

Many a college student has relied on coffee to get through finals, but these countertop appliances can also save your kid some real money by keeping them out of overpriced coffeehouses. Check out our March 2009 report on coffee.

If your student will make just a cup or two at a time, consider the standout $25 Melitta and $30 Cuisinart in our ratings (available to subscribers); both brew in a thermal container that can be taken to class. Multiple-cup standouts include a $40 Michael Graves model and the top-rated Cuisinart model, $99. If you want a model with a built-in grinder, check out the Mr. Coffee GBX23, $50, or the DGB-600BC, $160.

Smaller-footprint pod coffeemakers would seem an excellent choice for college, especially since they're simple to use and create less mess. But they require more expensive custom pods to brew coffee, so you might be better off stuffing your care packages with a top-rated coffee from our latest report.

Microwave Ovens

As with compact refrigerators, the usable space microwave ovens provide often is less than manufacturers claim, sometimes by up to 50 percent. When shopping, bring the boxes or clean, empty containers from your kid's preferred frozen foods to the store to see whether they fit inside the oven.

The best countertop models take the guesswork out of cooking and have settings for foods like popcorn, oatmeal, and pasta as well as for reheating or defrosting.

Among recommended models (available to subscribers) the Kenmore 6325[2], $130, bested the sharp-looking Panasonic Inverter NN-SD697[S] $160, at defrosting. And although it's not a conventional microwave oven, the $150 NuWave Pro Infrared Oven excelled at cooking some foods (especially chicken); it takes up about the same amount of space as a microwave.