So you have to go shopping for a new refrigerator, and you’re on a budget — the best buy is the one with the lowest sales price, right? Not necessarily. A trustworthy Waterford CT appliance dealer will tell you if you buy the lowest-priced refrigerator, you may end up spending more than if you buy a more expensive one. The reason why your local appliance dealer will tell you this is that the cost of owning a home appliance has three components: the initial purchase price, the cost of repairs and maintenance, and the cost to operate it.
In order to figure out how much you’ll spend over the lifetime of the appliance, you have to look at all these costs. According to reliable information from most home appliance dealers, those who can offer items with the lowest initial purchase price, or even the one with the best repair record, isn’t necessarily the one that costs the least to operate. This is why you should find out all the information that you possibly can on different models from a reliable Waterford CT appliance dealer before you make your purchase.
Your local Waterford CT appliance dealer can tell you that different models of refrigerators with the same capacity can vary dramatically in the amount of electricity they use. For one popular size and configuration, for example, the annual electricity consumption varies across models from a low of about 600 kilowatt-hours a year to a high of more than 800 kilowatt-hours a year. Based on national average electricity prices, that means the annual cost to operate this refrigerator can range from about $50 to $70, depending on which model you buy. A $20 difference in annual operating costs might not sound like much, but remember that you will enjoy these savings year after year for the life of the appliance, while you must pay any difference in purchase price only once. A reliable Waterford CT appliance dealer can tell you that as a result, you may actually save money by buying the more expensive, more energy-efficient model.
It is easy to learn about the energy efficiency of an appliance that you’re thinking about buying from reading the yellow-and-black Energy Guide label it displays. The Federal Trade Commission’s Appliance Labeling Rule requires appliance manufacturers to put these labels on all electronics and home appliances. If the tag is not readily visible, ask the sales or customer service manager to let you see it before you make your choice on what to purchase. This tag will tell you what the expected energy consumption is for the specific model you are viewing and other similar information. You should also ask the Waterford CT appliance dealer how maintenance-free the model is, and if it does require repairs, you should know how difficult it is to get parts. It is also important to find out what type of warranty and maintenance plans are available for each model of refrigerator you’re looking at. All of this type of information should be readily available from your local dealer.
