Energy week: Get a new fridge, maybe for free
This week's eco-topic: Energy.
Got an old, clunky fridge? Then you have an eco-conundrum: Keep that old one guzzling electricity, or send it to the landfill by buying a new energy-efficient fridge?
In general, reduce and reuse are the eco-mantras to go by. But when it comes to old, inefficient machines that suck up electricity, it's better to recycle and replace. As Umbra of Grist points out, efficient Energy Star refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers will save you both money and energy. Refrigerators in particular should be replaced after about 15 years.
In fact, those old refrigerators are wasting so much energy that the L.A. Department of Water and Power is willing to swap some of them out with a FREE fridge. That's right -- a FREE new fridge -- for low-income households.
If you make too much to qualify, you can still get a $100 combined rebate -- plus free CFL bulbs -- for buying a new Energy Star fridge and recycling your old one.
You can get rebates for other new appliances too. If you're replacing your air conditioner, washing machine, windows, central heat pumps, or pool pumps and motors, check out the L.A. DWP consumer rebate program page first to make sure you buy energy-efficient ones that qualify for rebates.
What to do with those old fridges? Don't send them to the landfill! L.A. DWP will pick them up for recycling.
Photo by don exempli via Flickr
