Old vs. New Appliance Savings Calculator
Replacing a working appliance to save energy is sometimes an obvious win and sometimes a bad deal dressed up as a green one.
Last updated Free, no sign-upHow it works
Annual saving from upgrading: $92, ranging from $78 to $110.
Annual saving from upgrading
medium confidence- United States average
- Assumptions 2026.07.1
Why medium: no state was resolved, so national averages were used; the modeled range spans about 35% of the typical value.
Key figures
- Simple payback period
- 15.3 yearsNet cost of $1,400 divided by the annual saving.
- Total saving over 14 years
- $1,284
- Net benefit over the appliance life
- -$116Lifetime energy saving minus the net purchase price. A negative figure means it does not pay for itself on energy.
- Electricity saved per year
- 500 kWh
- Old appliance costs
- $165/yr
- New appliance costs
- $73/yr
Cost breakdown
| Component | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual energy savingEnergy500 kWh less per year. | $78 | $92 | $110 |
| Annual saving from upgrading | $78 | $92 | $110 |
The low and high columns above will not add up to the headline range. Each line has its own uncertainty, and every line landing at its worst case at the same time is unlikely, so the total combines them as partially independent rather than summing the extremes.
For reference — already included above
- Running the old appliance$170
- Running the new appliance$73
What moved your estimate
Does not pay back on energy alone
At $0.183/kWh, the saving of $92 a year takes about 15.3 years to recover $1,400 — longer than the appliance is expected to last. Replace it when it fails, or for reasons other than energy.
Replacing something that still works
Manufacturing a new appliance has an environmental and financial cost that energy savings alone may not offset. The strongest case for replacement is usually when the old unit has failed or is about to.
How this number was produced
- Energy saved
900 − 400 kWh500 kWh/yr - Annual saving
500 kWh × $0.1834$91.70 - Net cost
$1,400 − $0 rebate$1,400 - Payback
net cost ÷ annual saving15.3 years
Adjustments applied
- Consumption reduction×0.44
The new unit uses 44% of what the old one uses.
- Electricity rate×1.00
United States residential average of $0.1834/kWh (EIA, June 2026).
Notes and sources3 notes, 2 sources
Worth knowing
- This is a simple payback calculation. It does not discount future savings, account for electricity price inflation, or include the maintenance and repair costs an ageing appliance is likely to incur.
- Reference consumption figures are class averages. Your own old appliance may be considerably worse than the reference, particularly if seals or components have degraded. The yellow EnergyGuide label on the new model gives its rated figure exactly.
- Utility rebates and federal tax credits can substantially change the answer, especially for heat pump water heaters and dryers. Enter any you qualify for in the rebate field.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A — Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by StateprimaryJune 2026retrieved 2026-09-11
- Typical power draw compiled from U.S. Department of Energy appliance guidance, ENERGY STAR product criteria and certified product data, and manufacturer nameplate specificationssecondary2026retrieved 2026-07-31
It depends on three numbers: how much less the new one uses, what you pay per kilowatt-hour, and what the replacement costs. This calculator puts all three together and tells you honestly whether it pays back.
Methodology
How this calculator works
How payback is calculated
Annual saving is the difference in yearly consumption multiplied by your electricity price. Simple payback is the net purchase price, after any rebate, divided by that annual saving. Net benefit is the lifetime saving minus the net purchase price.
We deliberately use simple payback rather than a discounted calculation. Discounting requires assumptions about interest rates and electricity price inflation that would add false precision to an estimate whose inputs are already approximate.
Why your electricity rate decides the answer
The same upgrade can have a four-year payback in Hawaii and a fifteen-year payback in North Dakota, because residential electricity ranges from about 12 cents to over 50 cents per kilowatt-hour across the United States.
This is why national "you will save X" claims about efficient appliances are close to meaningless. The calculator uses the published rate for your state, or your own if you enter it.
What the numbers leave out
The environmental cost of manufacturing a replacement, which energy savings may not offset for an appliance that still works. The maintenance and repair costs an ageing appliance is increasingly likely to incur, which favour replacement. And any improvement in water use, noise, or capacity, which do not show up in a kilowatt-hour comparison at all.
Location and data
Where the numbers come from
Location is optional, and we only ask for a ZIP code or a state — never a street address. A ZIP code is matched to its state using published postal prefix ranges, and that state is used to look up labor and price rows in the tables below. If you leave it blank, or your ZIP cannot be matched, the estimate falls back to a national average and says so on the result.
Nothing you enter is transmitted or stored. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, and the only place your inputs appear is in the page URL, so you can bookmark or share a result if you choose to.
- primaryJune 2026v2026.06
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A — Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State
Residential sector average retail price. State averages blend all utilities and rate classes in the state; an individual household bill can differ substantially, especially in deregulated markets and for customers on time-of-use tariffs.
- secondary2026v2026.07.1
Typical power draw compiled from U.S. Department of Energy appliance guidance, ENERGY STAR product criteria and certified product data, and manufacturer nameplate specifications
Running watts describe draw while actively operating, not standby. Appliances that cycle on a thermostat (refrigerators, freezers, window air conditioners) are modeled with a duty cycle rather than continuous operation, because nameplate watts times hours would overstate their use several-fold. Individual units vary widely by age, size, efficiency tier, and setting; treat these as class averages.
Full detail on every dataset is on the data sources page. Spotted something wrong? Report incorrect data.
Cost factors
What changes the price most
- Your electricity rate
- The single biggest determinant of whether an upgrade pays back.
- Size of the efficiency gap
- Replacing a pre-2001 refrigerator or a vented dryer with a heat pump model saves far more than a like-for-like modern swap.
- Purchase price
- Premium models save no more energy than mid-range ones meeting the same standard, but take much longer to pay back.
- Rebates and tax credits
- Can cut payback by years, particularly for heat pump water heaters and dryers.
- Remaining life of the old unit
- If it is about to fail anyway, the relevant comparison is efficient versus cheap replacement, not replace versus keep.
- Repair costs
- Not modeled. An old appliance needing a $400 repair changes the arithmetic substantially.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is it worth replacing an old appliance to save energy?
It depends almost entirely on your electricity rate and how big the efficiency gap is. Replacing a pre-2001 refrigerator or a vented dryer with a heat pump model often pays back within the appliance’s life. Replacing a ten-year-old dishwasher with a new one rarely does. The calculator gives you the actual payback period rather than a slogan.
How do I find out how much electricity my old appliance uses?
The yellow EnergyGuide label states estimated annual kilowatt-hours, though it is often long gone. A plug-in energy meter costing about $25 will measure it directly over a week, which is the most reliable method for anything that plugs into a standard outlet.
What is a good payback period for an appliance upgrade?
Comfortably shorter than the appliance’s expected life. Under five years is strong for something lasting twelve to fifteen. If the payback exceeds the expected life, the upgrade does not pay for itself on energy and should be justified some other way.
Do ENERGY STAR appliances really save money?
They use measurably less energy, and whether that becomes money depends on your rate and how much you paid for the certification premium. ENERGY STAR is a genuine standard rather than marketing, but a premium model meeting the same standard as a mid-range one saves no more energy for considerably more money.
Should I replace an appliance that still works?
Usually only if the payback is short and the efficiency gap is large — a pre-2001 refrigerator or an electric resistance water heater are the clearest cases. For anything else, waiting until it fails and then buying efficiently is generally both cheaper and lower impact.