by Cate Ferguson

Created on: January 04, 2009

This is the second in a series of Articles that have become The Energy Saver Challenge. The first article concentrated on helping people save energy and money on their lighting bill.

The focus for now is on how your appliances can cost you unnecessry money, be using energy for which no benefit is derived and how you can do better for the environment and your wallet no matter what your circumstances.

If you are in the market for a new fridge or freezer, dishwasher or oven or any other appliance for your home, now is the time to make some quality decisions. It's not all about looks you know, these days it is just as important to select a model that will perform not only in the cooling/washing/looks department but also in the energy use department. Look for a model that has the top energy rating.

A model with a high energy rating can save you a lot of money over the lifetime of the appliance. Plus, you can know that you have made a choice that is a better deal for the environment too.

Now let's get into some useful detail.

Fridges and Freezers:

Did you know that your fridge and freezer account for a large proportion of the energy you use in your house? The reason for this is they usually run all day and all night, every day of the year. Learning how to use your fridge and freezer efficiently can make a big difference to how much energy you use. This is all good news for the environment and for your electricity bill.

Most people are not in the market for a new fridge and there are some important things you can do to improve the performance of your current fridge and freezer.

The first is to give it a bit of a tune-up in terms of it's seals.

Are they airtight?

You can check that by putting a piece of paper between the body of the fridge and the door. Shut the door and then tug gently on the paper. If it comes out easily then your seal is not tight enough and that is costing you money 24/7! It may be that the door hinges can be adjusted to improve the seal or perhaps it's time to get the seals replaced.

I read recently on an energy company website that an old inefficient refrigerator can use three times as much energy as a new one! that means it costs you three times as much to run. If you can check the seal and make that better or replace it, you will certainly benefit.

Many homes have an extra fridge in the garage, basement or even in the shed.

The party fridge, the beer fridge, the Christmas overflow fridge - whatever it's name at your place, it is costing you money. Up to

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