Refrigerators - Return on Investment ROI - Energy Efficiency vs Energy Cost

 

fyi....

Let's say one has an old 18.6 cubic feet top freezer refrigerator which
is rated at about 937kwhr/yr. Today we can find a new refrigerator of
the same capacity costing approximatedly $450 (san delivery and
disposal charges) which are rated from 437kwhr/yr to 475 kwhr/yr -
cutting the energy usage by about 50% ( the average saving being about
450 kwhr/yr).   The electricity charge in the Washington DC Metro area
is about 13 cents/kwhr[1]  so  the savings per due to a replacing the
old refrigerator with a more energy efficient one would be $54.82/year.
 If the cost of electricity averagedabout 13 cent/kwhr over the next
ten years it means it would take about 8 years before the money saved
from lower energy usage would pay for replacing the old refridgerator
with a more energy efficient one.  The lifespan of a refrigerator is
about from 15 to 20 years. ISTM the energy savings of a new
refrigerator would be an incentive to replace rather than repair a
non-functional older refrigerator but the operation cost saving of a
new refrigerator is not significant to induce one to replace a working
older refrigerator.

Would there be any other situations where it would worth it to upgrade
to a more energy efficent appliance?


[1]
the following charge excludes fixed customer charge(5.54), credits, and
gross taxes (2%) not based on kwhr used.

Distribution Charges effected by Kwhr usage
=================================
0.0198400 energy charge/kwhr
0.0006200 franchise tax (delivery charge)/kwhr
0.0001390 State tax/kwhr
0.0046538 Cty tax/kwhr

0.0933100 Energy generation charge/kwhr
0.0023250 Procurement Cost Adj charge/kwhr

0.0032600 Transmission charge/kwhr
----------------
0.1218228 distribution-generation-transmission charge/kwhr

Assume that the average cost of  1 kwhr over 8 years is about 13
cents/kwhr

 



walter_lee@my-deja.com wrote:


I just did some calculations wrt replacing a desktop CPU with a mobile one.

It looked like payback in about 4 yrs based on quite heavy use.

Graham

 

Eeyore wrote:

That's the problem.  The new one will be obsolete before then, so it'll
never pay out.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam.  Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

 

On 26 Nov 2006 16:08:07 -0800, walter_lee@my-deja.com wrote:

I would not replace an inefficient appliance unless the cost per year
realy high, or if the appliance is to be changed anyway.

Instead of doing this calculation now, you should do it when you are
looking for a new appliance. And then factor the extra cost compared
to the savings.

I think you should rather go for stuff that uses more energy, like
heating and lights.
If you have an electric stovetop, you can save quite a bit on using an
induction top instead.
If you replace normal lightbulbs with T5 lighting, you can save a bit.
If you install a heatpump for heating, you can do great savings.

Idealy, it should be possible to use a heatpump to both cool a
freezer-room, fridge-room and cold-room, and at the same time heating
your house. Thus giving yoy "free" cooling or heating depending on the
way you look at it.

--
SEE YA !!!
Trygve Lillefosse
AKA - Malawi, The Fisher King

 

Trygve Lillefosse wrote:

Thanks for the input.
My 17 year old York heat pump is still working but its near the end of
its life. On a average year, during the entire winter the heat pump
increases my electricity consumption by about a total of 1600 kwhr that
year and during the summer the heatpump  usage increases my electricity
by about 400 kwhr during that year.  That is to say - my heatpump
energy usage (to heat/cool) for the entire year usage is about 2000
kwhr. If electricity cost 13 cent/kwhr  then my annual heatpump energy
operational cost is about $260/year. From what I've been reading
replacing a HVAC is not as simple as replacing a refrigerator since the
newer more efficient HVAC may requires the replacement of both the
furnace, outside compressor unit, and ductwork. Thus creating a ROI
model for a more efficient HVAC would be more involved. Replacing a
HVAC system would also be more expensive, too.