There are a whole lot of energy efficient, environmentally friendly electrical, renewable battery charged and solar powered household products crowding the marketplace with their claims to save you money.
Sure, a new HE washer or dryer will save you money on your water and electric bill, and you will use less detergent. A brand spanking new air conditioning unit or furnace will run cleaner and lower your electric bill. If I could get past the sticker shock and stop clutching my chest in fear that my heart will stop beating after hearing the price of these high end products, I might just go out and buy one!
I don’t stick around long enough to hear the price of the warranty or, even better, the extended warranty. The extended warranty costs much more and in general reiterates that they are not going to cover anything they said they wouldn’t cover in the warranty you were issued in the first place. You just have to pay them more money to hear it again.
What gets me is that many of these products pay for themselves within 5-7 years. Isn’t that about the time all of the parts start to break down and the warranties and extended warranties have expired anyway? Now you have to pay for it all over again by replacing costly parts and paying for the repairman’s trip to Italy.
I simply can not justify buying some of these products if it is going to take that long for me to get a return on it. In the past 7 years I have bought a new a/c unit, a dishwasher, refrigerator, smooth top electric stove and an HE washing machine. I did not buy top of the line products, so a defibrillator was not necessary, and no one had to call the paramedics when I made my purchases. I generally purchased the middle priced items that fit into my budget. I figure the more you pay, the longer it will take for a return on the product, and by that time…it is almost time to buy a new one anyway!
I have had very good luck with my purchases and my electric and water bills are significantly less in comparison to others who do not have energy efficient products. I feel I did well with the middle priced purchases I have made.
My focus for the past 2 years has been to find a way to save more money on our water bill and on the amount of money it costs to heat our water. I have looked into solar powered hot water heaters, but… there I go again clutching my chest! It is too much of an investment for my meek budget and the return on it is 5-6 years down the road.
One day while searching online I stumbled upon the GE Hybrid Water Heater. It is affordable, you get big tax credits, and you can save up to 62% off of your water heating energy. There is a 1 yr warranty on parts, and a 10 year warranty on the unit. I especially liked this bit of information on their FAQ page: If cooling months exceed heating months, the user may experience additional energy savings beyond the Hybrid water heater based on the DOE standard. Now they have my attention!
What this tells me is that since I live in Florida where the cooling months are much longer than the heating months, I will save $320.00/yr or more! Throw in the tax rebates and this unit could potentially pay for itself within 2 ½ -3 yrs. Now that is more like it! I urge you to take a look at it: http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-heater/ , and let me know what you think.
Please leave a comment if you already own one of these units. I have not bought one yet, but I am considering buying one shortly after I return to work. GE isn’t paying me to pass this information on to you. I just thought this might be worth a second look.
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