I’ve been faced all summer with decreasing freezer space in my refrigerator/freezer combo with our harvest. It finally came to a head and so yesterday we went shopping for a freezer and a new refrigerator (since ours is about 10 years old and has some problems). Of course we looked diligently, in about 4 different places, and especially at the Energy Star appliances. We were disappointed to find that in these four places we were unable to find an Energy Star free standing freezer. So we ended up buying a 7 cubic foot non-Energy Star 275 kwh chest freezer and brought it home in our car.
We have housed the freezer outside our back door and will be insulating it a little more with some other materials to add to the efficiency of the appliance.
We were going to purchase an Energy Star refrigerator/freezer combo we found for just the right price within our budget that we feel will be efficient (22 cubic feet, 448 kwh) but our schedule didn’t match the delivery schedule so we decided to wait one more month when things aren’t quite as hectic (start of school you know).
Last year we had to a purchase new washer and dryer and it looks like the next appliance we will be faced with purchasing over the next year will be a stove. Then all of our appliances will be up to date and as energy efficient as we could get within our budget.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 