Refrigerators are one of the major energy hungry appliances in a housing society. They might use less power than the air conditioners or the electric water heaters present in all flats in a housing society, but you can turn off the AC or the water heater. The refrigerator is a continuously run appliance that you cannot switch off.

Think of your refrigerator and then think of the number of houses in your housing society. How many refrigerators does it translate to? The total energy cost would be eye popping. And that is just limited to your housing society, while the city is bound to have more such societies by the dozen.

Wouldn’t you jump at an option to save on all that expense?
You don’t have to go back to using earthenware pots and storing food in cool dark shelves and there are many practical solutions that you can choose.

Energy Efficient Models

The solution is to go and buy an energy efficient model to replace your old energy guzzler. If your fridge was bought in the 1990s or earlier, consider getting a new model. The newer refrigerators are vastly more energy efficient than the older models. More efficient compressors and better insulation, results in much lower power consumption.

Newer energy efficient models have to follow more stringent energy use standards. With all the competition, most companies try to provide more energy efficiency than the standard required by the BEE. You can benefit from the same.

Lower Electric Bills

There’s a reason why every resident in a housing society should care about this issue and the most important point is to cut costs. You are sure to be paying utility bills every month – wouldn’t you love to see your power bills go down? Replacing them with energy efficient models means lower power consumption, and lesser costs.  Look for BEE labels on the products; they are an assurance that the models follow the standards set by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

Cost to the Environment

In most areas, electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels like coal. These release carbon-dioxide into the air. The more energy you use, the more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere. This traps heat on the earth’s surface, causing the green house effect. That is why summers are getting hotter every year.

Even if you don’t particularly care about ecology, it still comes back to affect you. The hotter the climate gets, the more you need to use appliances like the AC and the fridge. That again translates to higher energy bills.

Depletion of Fossil Fuels

The more power you use, the more fossil fuels are used up. The problem is that these are not sustainable energy sources and one day, they will run out. So, until safe viable alternatives are found to satisfy the ever increasing need for power – electricity or motor fuel – we need to conserve what we have.

Energy Rating

As of 2010, BEE labeling has been made mandatory for Frost Free Refrigerators, while labeling is still voluntary for Direct Cool systems. These star rated refrigerators might cost a bit more. But when you factor in the cost savings in terms of lowered electric bills, you could probably recover the cost in two or three years. That is not bad for a machine that would probably be used for around a decade, if maintained well.

A housing society comprises several residences. Count the total cost in terms of money, energy, and the cost to the environment. If the members of your housing society get together and decide to use energy efficient appliances, think of how much you could be saving.

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