Use household appliances longer: How to save money and protect the climate!

Use household appliances longer: How to save money and protect the climate!

In today's consumer society, it is widespread to replace household appliances quickly without taking into account their long service life. However, a new study by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) shows that it often makes more sense to further use and repair older devices such as dishwasher, tumble dryer, vacuum cleaner as well as refrigerators and freezers. UBA President Dirk Messner emphasizes that not only money can be saved, but that this also has a positive impact on the climate, since a longer use of the devices leads to saving resources.

Technical options for the production of more efficient devices are limited, and given the increasing climate regulation of the German electricity mix, the electricity consumption of household appliances has a lower influence on greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the study comes to the conclusion that it is usually neither financially nor ecologically sensible to replace old household appliances with new ones. An exchange can only be useful if devices are used very frequently and inefficiently.

Details on specific devices

Especially with dishwashers and tumble dryers, it is worth using them as long as possible. An exchange of dishwashers that have an efficiency class from A, as well as tumble dryers from class D or C, is only advisable for intensive use. For cooling and freezing devices, electricity consumption should be determined with a measuring device. The replacement of a cool-freezer combination for a new A device is considered climate-friendly if the annual consumption exceeds 340 kWh and can also be financially profitable from 560 kWh.

In the case of vacuum cleaners, however, there are no clear energy efficiency classes. An exchange can be financially worthwhile if at least 1.5 hours a week is cleaned with a 1,800 watt model. From an ecological point of view, the exchange can be worthwhile with a 1,200 watt vacuum cleaner at an hour of use, whereby a high -quality device with a maximum of 600 watts should be purchased.

analyze power consumption

In order to assess the electricity consumption of your own devices, it is advisable to check the power consumption. An average two-person household has the following annual costs in terms of electricity consumption (as of April 2023, Kilowatt hour price: 34.3 cents):

Especially devices such as cooling and freezing cabinets that are constantly in operation can be a reason for an exchange if the consumption is high. A refrigerator that is 20 years old can consume over 350 kWh and cost more than 120 euros, while a new model only needs 125 kWh and 43 euros. In order to better determine the electricity consumption, a electricity meter can be borrowed, which helps to identify savings potential.

Efficiency increases in large household appliances since the 1990s are remarkable: today dishwashers need below 135 kWh per year compared to 490 kWh in 1990. Similar progress also shows modern tumble dryers that only use a fraction of the energy of their previous models in an efficiency class of A +++. This development was promoted by the EU energy label and the ecodesign guideline, which determine the requirements for the energy efficiency of household appliances.

A conscious handling of old household appliances can not only benefit your own wallet, but also make an important contribution to climate protection, so that a longer use and, if necessary, repair older devices are recommended.

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Environmental Federal Agency