Appliance Upgrade Calculator | The Greener Electron

See whether an efficient appliance is worth the extra cost. Pick your appliance, adjust the typical values to match your situation, and the calculator estimates your yearly savings, the payback on the price premium, and your net savings over the appliance’s life. Every assumption is visible and editable, because honest math beats marketing math.

Your appliance

Appliance type Changing this refills the typical values below, unless you already edited them by hand. Old unit: annual electricity use (kWh) Typical value prefilled. Check the yellow EnergyGuide label for exact figures. Efficient new unit: annual electricity use (kWh) Typical value prefilled. An ENERGY STAR model’s EnergyGuide label is the honest source. Price premium of the efficient model ($) How much more the efficient model costs than a basic model. Set to 0 if the prices are the same.

Assumptions (tap to view and edit)

Electricity price ($ per kWh) Find this on your electric bill. US average is around $0.17 per kWh. Appliance lifetime (years) Used for the net savings figure. Typical: 10 to 15 years for most major appliances.

The prefilled kWh figures are typical US estimates for a standard size unit at average usage. They are starting points for editing, not measurements of your home.

Your estimate

$0Old unit cost per year

$0Efficient unit cost per year

$0Saved per year

–Payback on price premium

$0Net savings over appliance life

Payback point12 year appliance life

Before you decide

These are typical estimates, not your meter. Real use varies with household size, settings, and climate. The yellow EnergyGuide label on each model you compare is the honest source.
Washer savings here exclude hot water. Efficient washers also cut hot water use, so real dollar savings are often larger than shown.
A working old appliance costs you nothing upfront. Replacing early rarely wins; this math matters most when you are buying anyway because the old unit failed.
Installation and delivery are not included. Those costs land on both sides, so they usually do not change which model wins.
Rates and usage vary. Treat this as an estimate, not a promise.