Articles

Ovens - When shopping for an oven, your first decision should be whether you want an electric oven or a gas one. This decision is based on your cooking preferences. Also, consider the type of cleaning process it uses. Standard ovens will have to be cleaned manually, but there are now self-cleaning ovens with programmable settings, which use high temperatures to clean off any residue. You can also get continuous cleaning ovens that absorb or burn off splatters, making it even more convenient.

Refrigerators - A rule of thumb when buying a refrigerator is that you need to consider the number of people in your household to determine the capacity you need. For example, a family of two needs at least 8 to 10 cubic feet, then add another cubic foot of space for each family member. Remember that refrigerators with freezers on top are generally more energy-efficient than those with side-freezers.

Dishwashers - When choosing a dishwasher, you should find out how many gallons of water it uses during different cycles. Look for features that reduce water use. The new stainless-steel models can improve energy efficiency during drying cycles and allows for higher water temperatures as well.

Ventilation Hoods - The fan will be the most important factor here. Axial fans are inexpensive but not as powerful as centrifugal fans. Try to find hoods that have a tempered glass light lens. These are more durable than the plastic lens, which yellow and crack, and they last longer. You should also consider buying one with a low sone number. The lower the sone number is, the quieter your range hood.

Garbage Disposal Systems - When shopping for a garbage disposal, there are several things to consider in order to arrive at the best disposal to fit your needs. You need to take into account the number of meals that are prepared in your kitchen per week, how often you entertain, and the amount of noise it makes, as well as a long product life. Find out also if your kitchen is hooked up to a septic or water system.

Air Conditioners - When looking for a powerful air conditioner, check out the yellow energy tag (represented as Energy Efficiency Ratio or EER) and consider its efficiency. The Energy Efficiency Ratio, or EER, ranges from 8 to 12, so the higher the EER number, the better the efficiency. After this, you also need to consider the space of the room you'll be putting the air conditioner in, as well as your budget. Do you need to cool the whole room? Does the weather change a lot where I'm located? The answers will help you find a suitable model that will fit your needs. Try to match the unit's cooling capacity with the size of the room. Follow the Dept. of Energy's formula, which is to multiply the room's square feet of space by 20.

Water Heaters - Again, energy efficiency is the important factor here. There is an EnergyGuide%u2122 label you can read to determine the estimated energy consumption of a particular unit and its estimated annual operating costs. Using these information, you can compare models and see which ones are better at energy saving. Tank size or capacity refers to the amount of water, in gallons, that the water heater will hold. The more gallons of hot water you need per hour, the larger the water tank must be to accommodate the need. Of course there are also tank-less systems which heat water as you need it. They are powered by either gas or electricity and turn off when not being used. However, they have trouble supplying large amounts of hot water at any one time.