How is replacing older appliances environmentally efficient?

Question

If I replace my old refrigerator and air conditioner with energy efficient ones isn’t there a tremendous negative effect on the environment? There are the natural materials that need to be extracted from the earth, the energy (factory) used to produce the new products, the staff, and trucking. Then there is the sales environment (building, lights, energy to operate the building, sales people, shipping, my driving to the store – maybe several stores to find the best deal.) Now what to do with the old appliances? More energy to recycle or fill up the land. This doesn’t sound like a good deal for the environment. Shouldn’t we just fix our old items before thinking of replacing them, even if they aren't energy smart?

Answer 1

They are more efficient in the way they operate. An old refrigerator can be using up 500 Watts (just as an example, probably not the real amount) whereas a new fridge can operate at lets say 400 Watts. Because it is using less electricity, it is more efficient because it is doing the same job and using less resources. You are right that the stores, production, etc. cost money. But the fridge is going to be made regardless of whether or not you buy it. But by you buying it and getting rid of the old one, you are helping out.

Since less electricity is used, not as many fossil fuels need to be burned, etc..

Also look into replacing all incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent. They too yield the same result as standard incandescents but they cost a lot less to run.

Answer 2

You have touched on a very important issue, one that people will have to come to terms with in the next decade or so. The environmental impact of a machine is not simply the amount of electricity it uses when it is plugged in. I would say though that it would be close to impossible to calculate in a meaningful way the environmental impact of manufacturing a single refrigerator or washing machine. In general though I would say that if you live in an area where energy is abundant but water is not then it would be beneficial for you to invest in water saving devices. The savings you realize on an energy efficient appliance might still take years to offset the impact of manufacturing the appliance in the first place. While you may not be able to repair the machine yourself, there are plenty of skilled people out there that can make your fridge or AC run like new.

Of course, there is always the alternative of not having an air conditioner. There are several styles of building that make central cooling in the home unnecessary.

Answer 3

On the contrarty, it is economically and enviornmentally efficent to recycle old appliances. It requires less energy to recycle metals than to mine them from the earth. Thus using recycled materials to build the new ones costs less when it comes to making them. Secondly, running less efficent appliances burns more fossil fuels in some way, shape or form by either the construction of the nuclear plant where you get your energy, which means more nuclear waste is produced (thus the need to transport them by train to their final resting place) or from the trash burning facility that makes your energy.

Of course, fixing the older items does seem to make sense because you are using fewer raw materials and using less infrastructure space and time (store lights, driving etc...). However, the refrigerant lines and compressor will need replacment eventually. The process of constructing new lines requires that they be properly cleaned and then filled with nitrogen for storage, then shipment to the manufacturing plant where the refrigerant is added to the plumbing of your cooling system. The act of repairing an old refrigerant system is even more costly than the purcahse of a new one beacue it can't really be done at home without significant labor and trouble.

The refrigerants used (R134 usually) is highly toxic and not good for anything other than transferring energy and i'd reccomend it being recycled professionally rather than having it spewed all over your kitchen when a tube fails.

Answer 4

Energy star appliances use WAY less energy. Less electricity.

Put your old appliances on freecycle and someone else can use them. Or you can recycle much of it.

If you have a dishwasher that is using four times the water and twice the electricity, it makes sense to get rid of it. If you have a 1950's fridge in your garage, unplug it and you will see a dramatic lowering of your power bill. If, however, your stuff is in good working condition, and is energy efficient, it does make sense to repair it. Good luck finding someone who will, though! I know I am not getting rid of my 10 year old Maytag stove until I absolutely have to. The thing is built great, way better than the new ones.

We take apart our old appliances and recycle everything we can. We had a four year old dishwasher puke on us, unfixable, and the plastic tub part became a "dogloo" type animal shelter, the metal was all scrapped, and the usable repair parts to the motor were sold on Ebay. Only the door was trashed. We have also made dog houses out of old refrigerators.

Answer 5

With advancement of technologies, new appliances have become much more efficient, while at the same time do much more and have a greater capacity for storage. It will run more efficiently, use less gas, or electricity, and cool more evenly.

Replacing your old appliances in and of themselves is not enough. You also must ensure that the old appliance is
properly disposed of them properly to ensure that the liquids which may be most harmful are properly disposed.

Local electrical and the gas company will provide an incentive for replacement of older appliances. You may also be eligible for a discount for doing so. They will also assist in providing a location where the appliance can be retired to, disposed of and broken down to recycle that which is recyclable.

Answer 6

This is a very good question. It's a shame that so many people didn't read it or understand it completely before they answered.

If you know where to go to recycle your old appliance then it would be best to recycle it.

If a person just throws away the appliance then that person is negating a great deal of the net environmental benefit of replacing it.

I say, replace it when you need to but don't rush to do it early.

Answer 7

Firstly, we don't need to SAVE the environment. The only thing apparent here is the hype that goes against scientific research. There's no argument to be made there - 41,000 of the world's geological scientists signed a partition to say global warming is just a normal cycle and definitely NOT caused by CO2... they only person still saying that is Al (million-dollars per talk) Gore... because he's being paid millions to speak. Water temperatures are STABLE (ie only barely changing and are not the same as some 'isolated' reports say. I'd think CSIRO was a valid place to believe. They say this topic is all hype. Now if you're talking about Sustainability, that's a better topic. We need to use our resources better so we don't have to fork out more money to expand the existing resources. Once again, nothing to do with CO2 or global warming. To save the planet, I'm educating people about the facts of the environment. We need to save the planet from bad information. By the way, more long-life energy saving bulbs are thrown out per year than normal globes. These saving globes contain metals that destroy the environment in landfill much more than normal ones. Get low voltage lighting in your house and save 5x as much money.

Answer 8

the newer appliances will use a lot less electricity, to do the same job.
The cooling agent in refrigerators, and air conditioners will not harm the environment if it leaks out like the old freon would.
The old appliances can be recycled as well.

Answer 9

A modern refrigerator uses far less energy... and in some cases the energy savings can equal the cost of the new refrigerator in under 3 years.

If you are saving that much energy operating the refrigerator... you will be saving more energy than what it took to make the appliance.

Answer 10

even to fix them, though, you are using SOME resources (gas for the repairman, parts--new ones & disposing of old ones, etc) and then you also have the power guzzling appliance still in commission. i agree that if they are in proper working order it is foolish to replace them, but once they start needing numerous repairs, it starts getting to the point where replacing the whole thing is more efficient, esp if you replace it with an energy star appliance. NOW you have to dispose of it properly. the best way, i think, is to try & sell it or give it away to someone who needs one real cheap & fast & possibly knows how to fix them, or you can take them into an appliance place that fixes & resells them.