If you’re wondering how to buy energy-efficient appliances, it’s time to conserve energy and realize those savings. Replacing old appliances with brand new, energy-efficient models is the surest way to cut long-term energy costs. The mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle” is a foundation of the sustainability movement, in some cases, replacing can be better.

Replace aging appliances:

ENERGYSTAR®, an Environmental Protection Agency program, has simplified the shopping process by offering the ENERGYSTAR® label for appliances. Such products, whether they’re dishwashers, clothes washers, or freezers, have been vetted to be certain they use less energy and natural resources and help you save money.

Expect energy savings:

Product tags typically outline the benefits an appliance provides. Some examples:

• A full-sized ENERGYSTAR® clothes washer uses 15 gallons of water per load, instead of the 23 gallons used by a standard machine. It saves 27,000 gallons of water over the machine’s lifetime.

• ENERGYSTAR® refrigerators use about 15% less energy than non-certified models. Opting for a certified new fridge rather than a standard one can save you $80 in energy bills over the lifetime of your fridge. Use the savings estimator tool to calculate potential energy savings on the website.

• Dishwashers with the ENERGYSTAR® label are, on average, 10% more energy efficient and 20% more water efficient than standard models. Pre-1994 dishwashers typically cost about $40 per year more in energy than those with the ENERGYSTAR® label.

Recycle old appliances:

If appliance upgrades aren’t in your budget, you can still use what you have more efficiently by:

• Running full loads of laundry or dishes

• Washing clothes in cold water to save $63 per year

• Turning off the drying feature on your dishwasher

• Hanging out clothes to dry in the sun

• Keeping the refrigerator away from direct sunlight and setting the temperature between 36 and 38 degrees F. Set the freezer temperature between 0 and 5 degrees F