Over the course of the past 20 years manufacturers have made tremendous gains in making home appliances more environmentally friendly and less costly to operate. As beneficial as these improvements are, over the course of its lifetime a refrigerator is still the most expensive kitchen appliance to maintain. In the 1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) created a classification called Energy Star. Although typically more expensive to purchase, appliances with the Energy Star logo can save almost half of the daily energy you use, cutting down overall costs in the long run. Energy Star refrigerators in particular consume around 40 percent less energy than their counterparts and can save you up to $150 annually. If you own your refrigerator for a decade, that’s up to $1,500 in savings. Check out this guide to EnergyStar Appliances for more information.
Diane Bondareff/AP Images for LG Electronics USA/File
