Put Some of Your Energy Into Getting Newer, Efficient Appliances

Generating the electricity needed to run just your refrigerator puts a ton of greenhouse gas into the air every year. Our energy use is also responsible for strip mining, nuclear wastes, smog and acid rain.

When the time comes to replace an appliance, you can reduce your impact on our environment by upgrading to the most efficient models. Here are suggestions:

* Refrigerators. Old refrigerators burn as much as $150 worth of electricity a year. Newer, more efficient models use as little as $30 to $50 a year. Refrigerators with the freezer on top are more efficient than side-by-side models. The most efficient sizes are in the 15- to 20-cubic-foot range.

* Dishwashers. New dishwashers come with the option of using fan-blown room air to dry dishes. Also, water temperature boosters that heat incoming water to 140 degrees allow you to keep your regular water heater set at 120 degrees. Other features to shop for are variable wash cycles and programmable wash settings that turn on automatically during off-peak hours.

* Washing machines. Front-load washing machines use one-third less water than top-load models. Some 90% of the energy used to wash clothes is spent to heat the water, so match the clothes volume to the water levels carefully.

* Dryers. The most advanced models of clothes dryers have moisture meters that stop the machine when the clothes are sufficiently dry. And nothing beats the energy efficiency of a solar clothes dryer--hanging the wash out on a clothesline to dry in the sun.

* Cooking. Convection ovens that use a fan to blow heat over the food are a third more efficient than conventional ovens. Microwave ovens can be as much as two-thirds more efficient than conventional ovens.