Appliances

Besides heating and air conditioning, appliances are one of the biggest energy draws in the residential sector.  Some examples include refrigerators, ovens, microwave ovens, dishwashers, clothes washers/dryers, water heaters, and freezers.  In other words, these are the things that we use on a daily basis for important functions.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, most appliances run on electricity, as opposed to natural gas or propane (in 2005, 7,317 kWh of electricty were used per household to power appliances).

EnergyStar is an important part of regulating energy usage by appliances.  This program was started by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992, and aimed to label devices and appliances that used energy most efficiently.  The program began covering computer monitors and expanded to include more than 35 different products, including building materials.

In the future, new technology will lead to more environmentally conscious appliances.

For example, electricity monitors like this have given consumers the opportunity to measure how much power their appliances use daily and adjust their habits accordingly.  The future of appliances themselves is always undergoing changes, and by incorporating new inventions and technology, we can make appliances much more useful and efficient.