Guides

Appliance energy guides

Plain-English explainers, buying guides and roundups on what appliances cost to run, all grounded in the 4,429 certified models in our index.

16 guides4,429 models referenced

Explainers

7 guides
Explainer How to Cut Your Appliance Energy Costs A practical, no-gimmick guide to lowering what your appliances cost to run, using real ENERGY STAR running-cost data and the US average rate of $0.1856 per kWh. 6 min read Explainer What ENERGY STAR Certified Actually Means (and What It Doesn't) The blue label proves an appliance beats the federal minimum for its size class and passed independent testing, but it does not promise the lowest running cost, so here is how to read it. 5 min read Explainer How Your Electricity Rate Changes What an Appliance Costs to Run The exact same refrigerator can cost $37 or $140 a year depending on where you plug it in, and here is how to run the numbers for your own rate. 5 min read Explainer Do Energy-Efficient Appliances Pay for Themselves? The honest payback math on efficient versus standard appliances, using real ENERGY STAR running-cost gaps and the US average rate of $0.1856 per kWh. 5 min read Explainer How to Read the Yellow EnergyGuide Label A plain-English decode of every number on the FTC EnergyGuide label, how the estimated yearly cost is calculated, and why it rarely matches what you will actually pay. 6 min read Explainer How Much of Your Electric Bill Is Appliances? Heating, cooling, and hot water dominate the average US electric bill, but the plug-in appliances you can actually shop for still add up to a few hundred dollars a year, and some cost far more than others. 5 min read Explainer What Is a Kilowatt-Hour, and What Does One Cost? A kilowatt-hour is the unit your utility bills you in, it costs about 18.6 cents on average in the US, and here is exactly how your appliances turn it into a monthly charge. 5 min read

Buying guides

8 guides
Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Refrigerator A data-driven buying guide to picking a fridge that fits your kitchen without quietly padding your power bill, using real ENERGY STAR running costs. 5 min read Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Room Air Conditioner Size the BTUs to your room, then buy the highest CEER you can afford: here is how those two numbers translate into real running costs, using 404 ENERGY STAR models. 5 min read Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Dishwasher A data-driven guide to picking a dishwasher that sips power and water, using real ENERGY STAR running costs and the specs that actually move your bill. 6 min read Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Clothes Dryer Why a heat-pump dryer can cost a quarter of what a conventional vented model costs to run, and how to read CEF, capacity, and moisture sensors before you buy. 5 min read Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Freezer A chest freezer with manual defrost, sized to what you will actually fill, is almost always the cheapest freezer to run, and the real ENERGY STAR numbers back that up. 5 min read Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Dehumidifier A data-driven buying guide to integrated energy factor, matching pint capacity to your room, and why running hours decide what you actually pay. 6 min read Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Washing Machine Sort by IMEF, favor front-loaders, and remember that the water heater behind the machine usually costs more than the machine itself. 5 min read Buying guide How to Choose an Energy-Efficient TV Screen size, not the OLED-versus-LED badge, is the real driver of what your television costs to run, and the honest gaps are smaller than you think. 5 min read

Roundups

1 guide
Roundup The Most Efficient Appliances to Run in 2026: The Cheapest Model in Every Category A data-driven roundup of the single cheapest-to-run appliance in all eight major categories, with real annual costs from ENERGY STAR data and the US average electricity rate. 6 min read