WHICH FRIDGE FREEZER WOULD YOU BUY?

According to sus-it if we bought energy saving white goods for our homes we could each save on average £727 and over 2.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year!

At a recent Big Green Event I facilitated (for a University estates team), we included a focus session on helping staff think through the total life cost impact of their purchasing decisions.  The procurement director took us through a very simple model to use.

We are looking to buy some white goods for our new house at the moment; so I thought I would apply his model to our choice of four fridge freezers.

“You don’t just buy the cheapest”

It’s often easiest for any of us to just look at initial purchase cost – in which case we would buy the A rated fridge freezer.  The model quickly shows that this is not the best choice over time.

“Think least total life cost”

If our time horizon was five years, and our main focus was cost, we would buy the A+ option.  However, we plan to be living in our new house for at least ten years – so we are thinking much more about the A++. 

“Make the decision based on best value”

With the recent introduction of A+++ models, there are more and more efficient fridge freezers to choose from.  The table illustrates the benefits in energy and carbon saving. Our decision will be based on the best A++ or A+++ that suits our needs and at the moment it’s looking like the A++.

For more information on the EU labelling scheme, see DEFRA website.  The ratings system is due to be re-calibrated in July 2014 which will make it more difficult to achieve an A+ rating.

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