Refrigerators account for about 6% of a home's energy costs.ENERGY STAR® qualified models use at least 10% less energy than required by current federal standards, and 40% less energy than the conventional models. The higher effieciency ads up to total household energy savings of 5.4% on average.

Appliances in a typical home account for about 20% of the energy bills, which ads up to about $400 a year. Overall, you can use between 10-50% less energy with ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances, depending on how old the one is that your are replacing. As an example, a new refrigerator may cost well over $850 and the annual energy savings is about $120.

An ENERGY STAR® qualified refirgerator is only slightly more expensive than purchasing a comperably sized 'non-qualified' unit, so the added cost pays off relatively quickly.

This ROI Calculation is based on the marginal saving of just $.50 a month. If you are replacing a significantly older refrigerator, the savings will dramatically increase.

In addition to Energy Star savings, consider a ‘mini’ fridge for beverages instead of second full size refrigerator if you need extra capacity.

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