I read an article on what to do to fix up your home before selling it and it said that if your home was 15 years old replacing your appliances with modern energy star models would basically pay for itself in electric cost savings so you might as well do it even if you are not selling.
I bought my house in 1988 and it had an existing Sears dish washer and a GE stove with coil burners. I've already replaced the refrigerator and washer dryer.
Do you think I should buy a new dishwasher? The stove is pretty ratty and the oven needs a new heating element, so it is probably a no-brainer to replace the stove.
I wonder how they can cut the power consumption on a stove though since it seems to need power to make heat.
I also have an oil furnace that I bought back in 1989. The article also implied that a oil hot water furnace only lasts about 15 years and should be replaced. Mine seems ok, but I was surprised when the repair guy referred to it as an
"old model".
Have there been signifcant improvements in the past 20 years that might cut my oil bill? I read that the average cost is around $1600 a year, but I just had two deliveries adding up to nearly a grand already.
As long as I am thinking about it, what about some sort of digital thermostats that might do better? However, I am not sure about just turning the heat low during the day because I have an old cat and I want him to be comfortable. He does seem to snuggle up to the baseboard radiator units, so maybe I could just leave one area on for him.
As usual, thanks for all the advice. Maybe after a while I will be able to pass some along to future newbies.
I bought my house in 1988 and it had an existing Sears dish washer and a GE stove with coil burners. I've already replaced the refrigerator and washer dryer.
Do you think I should buy a new dishwasher? The stove is pretty ratty and the oven needs a new heating element, so it is probably a no-brainer to replace the stove.
I wonder how they can cut the power consumption on a stove though since it seems to need power to make heat.
I also have an oil furnace that I bought back in 1989. The article also implied that a oil hot water furnace only lasts about 15 years and should be replaced. Mine seems ok, but I was surprised when the repair guy referred to it as an
"old model".
Have there been signifcant improvements in the past 20 years that might cut my oil bill? I read that the average cost is around $1600 a year, but I just had two deliveries adding up to nearly a grand already.
As long as I am thinking about it, what about some sort of digital thermostats that might do better? However, I am not sure about just turning the heat low during the day because I have an old cat and I want him to be comfortable. He does seem to snuggle up to the baseboard radiator units, so maybe I could just leave one area on for him.
As usual, thanks for all the advice. Maybe after a while I will be able to pass some along to future newbies.