Saving energy and water when using common household appliances is important if you want to protect the environment. In addition, it doesn’t hurt to save some money on the electricity and water bills, because by having environmentally friendly appliances in your home, or having a “green” kitchen, you will have more “green” in your wallet as well. Therefore, read the following lines and find out what are the best environmentally friendly appliances out there, and don’t forget that the way you use them influences the reduction of the energy and water waste as well.

Dishwashers

The dishwasher is among the biggest energy consumers of the common household appliances, about 80% of the energy consumed by this appliance being used on heating the water. The best dishwasher with energy saving features consumes around 60-65 kilowatt hours per year, while the typical model consumes around 110 kilowatt hours per year. In addition, the the best dishwasher units consume around 4 gallons of water per cycle, being more than twice more efficient than the standard models which consume about 10 gallons of water per cycle.

Refrigerators

Keeping in mind the fact that the refrigerator is the only household appliance that runs non-stop the whole year, having one that consumes as less energy as possible is mandatory. Also, you can go without a microwave, or a dishwasher, but no household can go without a refrigerator, being one of the few mandatory appliances to have in a house. While the typical refrigerator consumes about 700 kilowatt hours per year, the environmentally friendly refrigerator consumed about 400 kilowatt hours per year. Therefore, you are saving around $200 on electricity every year if you use it.

Microwaves

Microwaves are environmentally friendly because they heat up, defrost, or cook your food in a much less time than any appliance. In addition, they help the food retain more nutrients than any other cooking method. Microwaves are a green addition to the kitchen, but don’t overuse them to not radiate your food too much.

Washing machines

The environmentally friendly washing machine consumes twice as less kilowatt hours per year than the standard model, and just like the case with the dishwasher, most of the energy is consumed on heating the water, about 95% of it to be more precise. Changing your standard model to an environmentally friendly model can only bring you benefits, therefore don’t sit and think about it too long, because you are affecting the environment and your wallet if you don’t switch to these improved models.