Will,
Before I go into models, here are a few general things to keep in mind while shopping:
- Buy a fridge with the freezer on the top. The cooling from the freezer will migrate down into the main compartment of the refrigerator and enable that part to not work as hard. Thus the entire fridge will be more energy efficient. (Don't buy a side or bottom mounted freezer.)
- Skip the water and ice cube dispenser. They increase the energy consumption by about 14-20% according the Energy Star website. A refrigerator takes up (typically) about 6% of the electricity use of a household which is quite a bit for just one appliance.
- Don't oversize. Get a fridge that isn't too big. Most energy efficient refrigerators run in the 16 - 20 cubic feet range.
That said, what refrigerator to buy?
What I did was to go to the
ENERGY STAR Refrigerator webpage. On the right-hand side (scroll down), you'll see a "Qualified Refrigerator" Excel spreadsheet. Go ahead and open that up. I did a filter for all refrigerators with Configuration = Top Freezer, Percent Better = all choices over 30. The higher the Percent Better, the more efficient. You'll get a list of refrigerators that way. Then, the next step is to just plug those into your favorite search engine and see what the prices are.
The
American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has an excellent piece about how to find a good energy efficient refrigerators. This is how I found out about the ENERGY STAR spreadsheet above.
Other Ideas:Treehugger claims that Kenmore's are really great energy-efficient fridges for the money.
A friend (Sarah V., whom you know) recently bought a
Whirlpool W9RXXMFW 19 cu. ft. Top-Freezer Refrigerator with Adjustable Glass Shelves, Full-Width Freezer Shelf and Clear Humidity-Controlled Crispers. You can check that one out or ask her what she thinks.
Will, let us know what you buy. It will be good to know.
Hope this was helpful.
Patricia
