Sydney Henderson - AHAM Consumer Blog

Research Shows Increase in Coffeemaker Usage

A new consumer research study published by AHAM details the impact of the US economy on portable appliance usage among owners of small appliances.

According to the research, 26% of espresso/cappuccino coffeemaker owners stated that they have used their appliance significantly more in the past 1-2 years due to the economy. Also, 21% of single-serve coffeemaker owners have used more on this appliance more due to economic conditions. Only 9% of auto-drip coffeemaker owners have used their appliance more frequently.

57% of espresso/cappuccino coffeemaker owners said that they somewhat or strongly agree that they use their appliance to save money over coffeeshop prices. Espresso/cappuccino coffeemaker owners may be saving up to $1,000 per year by brewing their coffee at home!

AHAM’s new Portable Appliance Saturation and Usage Study is based on a nationally representative sample of more than 2,500 households and was conducted by The Stevenson Company for AHAM members.

Also, check out Good Housekeeping's take on low-cost espresso makers. They also give their ratings to 19 different models that are all under $100.

Benefits of Recycling your “Beer Fridge”

According to the Steel Recycling Institute SRI, 90% of appliances in 2008 were recycled for their valuable metal. Tuesday morning’s post in the NY Times Green Inc. blog discusses a “cash for clunkers?? type program where states offer rebates for “beer fridges,?? which are older less efficient units that could be using more than triple the amount of energy than a modern unit of average efficiency. According to the post, “Utilities commonly estimate that homeowners can save up to $150 a year on their electricity bill by dumping their old refrigerator or freezer…. In addition, refrigerators made before the mid-1990s may also emit ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons.??

For refrigerator recycling options in your area, call 1-800-YES-1-CAN.

AHAM Publishes Major Appliance Historical Data Tables

AHAM has updated and published its Major Appliance Historical Tables, which includes major appliance shipment data from the first year shipments were tracked through the end of 2008. This unique data set includes total shipments of products that are imported, exported and produced domestically.

Analysts will see monthly data for major appliance categories beginning in the 1970’s through the present and annual data for most categories from the 1940’s or earlier. According to the historical data, in 1948, 700,000 clothes washers were shipped.

The Major Appliance Historical Tables are available for purchase in the AHAM Store.

Frozen Food Safety

NBC 4 in Washington, D.C. recently broadcast a segment on frozen food safety where consumer reporter Liz Crenshaw tested a variety of frozen food products. She reminds consumers that it is essential to follow the manufacturers’ instructions when cooking a frozen meal in the microwave or conventional oven. Some foods may need to sit after cooking to ensure the proper internal temperature is reached. Know your microwave wattage, use a thermometer and follow the instructions exactly. Watch the video below to see the full segment:

AHAM has more information about microwave ovens under the consumer information section of our web site.

BIG NEWS! DOE INITIATES APPLIANCE REBATE PROGRAM

Today the Department of Energy announced the funding for the Energy Efficient Appliance Consumer Rebate Program, which will deliver direct rebates to consumers for the purchase of ENERGY STAR appliances. AHAM has been working with the DOE since this program was first announced in the stimulus bill, a.k.a the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as we believe it is the most practical and effective step a homeowner can take to increase energy efficiency of their home and immediately reduce utility bills.

Now, it is up to each State Energy Office to register its interest in obtaining funding for this program. Several states already have announced that they will be applying for the funding. Arizonans could get $6.2 million for appliances! Missouri and Kansas are lining up for their share of the funding. Residents of New Mexico are ready to help stimulate the economy and decrease their energy bills with their share of the funding, amounting to $2 million.

AHAM encourages the states to submit their plans to DOE early to put money in their residents’ hands as quickly as possible.

If you are in the market for a new appliance, tell us what you think, and which appliance you will buy first.

Major Appliances: Recycled and Reused

Recycling is something most of us do every day when we separate our consumables at home. Recently, San Francisco has taken recycling to a new level by requiring that county residents separate compost from trash!

We most commonly think of recyclables as bottles, cans and glass. What is the most recyclable material? Is it plastic bottles, newspapers, glass jars, metal cans, cardboard boxes, or refrigerators? Well, the answer may surprise you. Of the ones listed, it is refrigerators and other major appliances that have a combined recycling rate of well over 90%!

What happens to these appliances? Whether you have them picked up when the new one is delivered, or whether you place it at the street for city pickup, these appliances make their way back to metal processing industries located across the U.S. (or, insert whichever country you live.) They can be bundled, crushed, cubed, or shredded but the metals will be separated and used over and over again. Steel is a remarkable material that forms not only the backbone of appliances, but the backbone of our country as well. Recycled steel becomes the structural steel used in buildings, bridges, and roads. And, the recycled plastics and insulation can provide energy or day-cover at landfills.

Do you have an old appliance that could be recycled? 1. Inquire if your retailer has a program to recycle appliances that they pick up. 2. Ask if your town or county has an appliance recycling program. (Or, ask: Why not?) For more on appliance recycling visit: AHAM’s web site or www.recycle-steel.org. You may also call 1-800-YES-1-CAN.

Toaster ovens do much more than toast

If you ever need to cook dinner in a hurry, or maybe you are only feeding one or two people, a toaster oven may provide you with added convenience to bake, broil, toast and roast smaller portions in a flash. This small appliance is capable of much more than cooking frozen food for college students to eat during late night study breaks. In the Washington Post article "The little oven that could" Joe Yonan describes several gourmet toaster oven recipes inspired by well respected chefs. He notes that over 40% of households own a toaster oven, according to NPD Group, so read through the article and realize the full potential of your tiny oven! Your taste buds will thank you for it!

Promoting Appliance Sustainability

Sustainability and “being green?? remain hot buzzwords in 2009, even as the economy cools down. Most industries have benefited from marketing their sustainability efforts. In fact, the green building materials market grew 45% between 2003 and 2008 to $57 billion.

For the home appliance industry, sustainable practices can include designing products to use less, or more natural materials. It can include reducing energy usage or packaging materials. It can also include designing products that use post-consumer recycled materials.

Household appliances have been demonstrating sustainability for many years. Since the 1970s, major appliance manufacturers have been designing products that show significant decreases in energy consumption each year.

And, beyond energy, 90% of major appliances are recycled at end-of-life! The steel used in your refrigerator today may be the same steel used in your new car tomorrow. Recycled steel is efficient and reduces the drain on our environment by avoiding the mining of coal and iron ore.

The home appliance industry has made dramatic improvements to appliances over the recent years and is committed to providing high-performance sustainable products for years to come. Producing and promoting sustainable products is one of the most important efforts we can make to improve our lives, and the lives of the generations to come.

Cool Off with a Room Air Conditioner

There is only one week left until Memorial Day – the unofficial start of summer! Other than BBQ’s and pool parties, you might also be thinking about how you are going to cool your house during the upcoming summer months. Room air conditioners are a practical way to cool down when the temperature heats up, especially for people who want to save money by only cooling the rooms they use the most.

Consumers who purchase new room air conditioners can enjoy new features such as varying fan speeds, remote controls, timers and different types of filters. The average room air conditioner manufactured in 2008 also use 23% less energy than units made in 1990—ENERGY STAR units can save you even more!.

Before going to the store to purchase a new unit, consumers should visit www.cooloff.org to search through a list of models that are AHAM certified. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) tests and certifies room air conditioners in an independent lab to verify that the product performs according to the manufacturers’ claims. Cooloff.org also offers a cooling calculator for consumers to determine the proper cooling capacity for their room. When you have calculated the number of BTU’s , you will be able to search for a correctly sized model in the AHAM Directory of Certified Models.

Beat the Heat! Check out the site today and cool off with a new room air conditioner!

The Need for Balanced Federal Energy Legislation

Congress is spending significant time this year on energy efficiency legislation, with a keen focus on appliance efficiency. Both houses of Congress have committees developing new provisions relating to the development of appliance efficiency standards while the Department of Energy is struggling to comply with a federal court ordered schedule to complete work on several appliance standards. This is while the agency is also attempting to adhere to additional new requirements on appliance efficiency included in laws enacted in 2005 and 2007. AHAM is involved in influencing the outcome of the 2009 energy legislation to ensure an adequately funded federal program that blends national efficiency requirements, and education and incentive programs that encourage manufacturers and consumers to seek even higher efficiency products.

While AHAM is encouraged that the new legislation embraces the potentially game changing application of smart grid technology to home appliances, we are nonetheless concerned that portions of the legislation will do more harm than good to a well thought out national appliance efficiency program.

Let me point out the areas we strongly support and the provisions we question. Smart grid is a great place to begin. As refrigerators undergo a fourth generation appliance efficiency standard at DOE, the law of diminishing returns begins to apply. Today’s average refrigerators consume the same amount of energy over a year as a 60 watt light bulb. The costs and benefits of tightening energy efficiency further are much more challenging. But the energy bill encourages DOE and manufacturers to produce smart grid appliances that have the capability of communicating with a utility to defer certain energy consuming functions such as refrigerator defrost or heated tumbling in a clothes dryer from peak to non-peak energy generation times of day. Nationwide, deployment of such products can materially assist in avoiding additional peak power plant usage and even serve as a backup for use of renewable energy generation. We encourage national energy policy and utility rate policies to encourage development and use of smart grid technologies.

But at the same time, we have expressed our concern with portions of the House Energy and Commerce energy bill which could undermine the national appliance efficiency system. For example, the bill increases by 60% the number of factors DOE must analyze when setting appliance standards. Additionally, DOE will be required to take on redundant data requirements from product manufacturers which will only pile more onto their already heavy work pace and add burdens to product manufacturers. We also believe the bill weakens the preeminence of national standards over conflicting state requirements. Our view is that we give DOE the funds it needs to do its job and encourage a strong and innovative national system. DOE’s basic test when setting appliance efficiency standards, which balance environmental benefits, consumer costs and manufacturer impact, should be protected and enhanced where possible. But we must preserve the balance of these three main tests, akin to a three legged stool, so that the consumer can step up to a more efficient appliance.

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