Older appliances in the home that are still working well and don’t seem to need to be replaced are still not as efficient as they were the first day you plugged them in. You can see exactly how energy-efficient (or inefficient) your refrigerator or television really is by plugging it into an energy consumption reader. The device -- one brand is called a Kill-a-Watt -- connects to the appliance and displays on a screen its true energy usage. These readers cost about $25 to buy, or you can borrow them for free from your local library.
ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION