Trade In Your Old Refrigerator For A New One

The main way to save money with your fridge is to use an efficient model.  New fridges aren't just a little more efficient, they're incredibly more efficient.  A 1986-era 18 c.f. fridge uses 1400 kWh a year, while a modern energy-efficient model uses only 350 kWh -- a whopping 75% reduction.


If your fridge was made before 2001, then yes, you should almost certainly trade it in. Older fridges are wildly inefficient.  The best modern models use less than half of what 1993-2000 fridges used.  For older fridges it's even more striking:  Replacing a 1992 fridge with a modern Energy Star model could save $1400 in electricity costs over the useful life of the fridge.  So if you've got an old fridge, yes, trade it in


Skip the ice maker and dispenser.  These ratchet up the energy use quite a bit.  According to the EPA these features mean 14-20% in extra energy, but Consumer Reports testing showed that these features could double energy use.


Old manual defrost fridges won't save money. You might have heard that manual defrost fridges use less energy than frost-free, so you might be tempted to look for an old manual defrost model.  Don't.  Old fridges use way more energy than new ones; even if the old one is manual defrost.  I once had an old manual-defrost model that used 1000 kWh year, which is more than twice what a modern 425 kWh Energy Star, frost-free model uses.