When we moved into our house nearly five years ago it came with an older washer and dryer set. Although ugly, loud and inefficient – the washer and dryer worked just fine. We sometimes discussed buying a new set, but couldn’t justify the cost if the ones we had worked just fine.
Last month, my electricity company, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) reached out to me and told me about their PSE appliance replacement program – replacing old refrigerators and clothes washers – for FREE!
Seems too good to be true, but customers who are Puget Sound Energy electric customers (those living in Washington cities like Olympia, Kent, Bellingham, Bellevue etc.) and who have a clothes washer that is really old, like 17 years old or older, can exchange it for a free ENERGY STAR model.
Older model refrigerators can use up to four times the energy of newer energy-efficient models. By replacing old refrigerators customers can save up to $200 a year in energy costs. By replacing old clothes washers with an energy efficient model, customers can save up to $100 a year in energy and water on monthly utility bills. It’s less expensive to upgrade to a new ENERGY STAR® refrigerator or clothes washer than to keep old appliances running.
Source: Puget Sound Energy
My old Whirlpool clothes washer was from 1997 and just made the cutoff. I was given the choice between a top loader or front loader washer – both Energy Star efficient and valued at $500 – $700. I opted for the top loader because it had a larger capacity and I had heard front loaders could be higher maintenance.
We scheduled the delivery for December 23 – and my brand new washer was delivered and installed, and my old washer was hauled away by the friendly delivery man. It was that easy.
My husband does all the laundry in the house (he always has) and he loves the new washer! The new washer detects how big your load is and fills the water level accordingly – so I think we’re saving money on water, in addition to electricity. It also spins our clothes so dry that we aren’t using our archaic, loud, VERY squeaky, dryer nearly as much – win-win!
I wish our fridge qualified, it’s old, but not old enough to qualify for the program.
Do you qualify for a FREE refrigerator or clothes washer?
If you are a PSE customer, here are all the details of the PSE Appliance Replacement Program. Read through the Q&A to find out how, and if, you qualify. I would list the requirements here – but want you to get the latest information from PSE.
Don’t qualify? Check for rebates!
If you don’t qualify for the program, but you are thinking about replacing an old fridge, freezer or clothes washer, Puget Sound Energy has up to $50 in rebates for these appliances (or more if you recycle your old appliance).
If you are NOT a Puget Sound Customer, I encourage you to check with your local utility company to see if they have an appliance replacement program and/or rebates if you opt to upgrade old appliances. Many times utility companies are mandated by the federal government to have programs such as these to help customers be more energy efficient and/or save money on their electricity bill.
This post isn’t sponsored by Puget Sound Energy – I’m just a customer who took advantage of the PSE Appliance Replacement Program – open to all PSE customers with eligible appliances.
Have you taken advantage of this program or a similar one? Let me know if you contact PSE and you get a new washer or refrigerator!
I received one of the free energy efficiency washing machines. Only to have it break one year and one month after their warranty expired. Piece of crap! I had my other machine for 8 years and never had one problem with it. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
I don’t like these programs. why should I pay for someone to get a new washer dryer and raise my utility rates. I don’t believe this benefits anyone but the people who get $1000 of new appliances.
my rates are already too high
I commented over on Money Saving Mom, but thought I’d click over here and check out your site too.
I did PSE’s manufactured home energy audit, ordered shower heads through their eshop, had my washing machine replaced and my refrigerator replaced in the house I just moved out of.
I was really happy with each of the appliances we recieved! The fridge didn’t get as cold as the old one, but I just adjusted the settings and it was equal to the older one. The washing machine (same as the one you got) cleaned really well. The old washer we had was maybe 30 years old! yes, this newer one won’t last that long, but it was so much nicer, quieter and was cleaning our clothes way better.
You should check out their eshop for the shower heads, I ordered 2 free shower heads from them. One was a hand held sprayer one that was great for the kids’ bathroom and the other was a basic shower head. They also had fancier ones for cheap prices, but since I was just a renter I stuck with the free ones.
I also got so many LED bulbs (and more shower heads) each time they came to our house that I was able to put some in my new house after we moved! 🙂
What a nice deal! I just have to take issue with your statement above:”I had heard front loaders could be higher maintenance”. I grew up in Europe and 90+ percent of washers are front loading there. When my wife and I went shopping for appliances, she had the same comment, her mom told her front loading washers are too much trouble?!?! I insisted and we went with a German manufacturer, Miele, we paid a premium vs top loading and now 10+ years later our washer and dryer are going strong. Feel free to Google “Miele washers”, they last 20+ years without issues. I just wanted to throw in some feedback and defend my beloved front loading washer. 🙂
Here’s a great resource to research on washers, top loading or not:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/laundry
I hate to be the doomsday person but new washers, dryers, and refrigerators only have a life span of 5-7 years. That’s how long the appliance company’s say they should last. In reality if it hits 2-3 years old and needs a part most repair men will tell you to throw it away and buy new. This is because the cost of parts and labor are usually more than the appliance is worth and it’s likely to break again in 1-2 years.
You would have to sit down and do the math of the energy/water usage versus the cost of re-buying the appliance to decide if it’s worth it. And of course if the appliance is not working right you don’t have much choice. But if I had one that worked well I would keep it so I could put off the buy-re-buy treadmill of new appliance purchases.
I just did the math; If you pay $500 for an appliance and it lasts 5 years the cost per month is $8.33. If you save the full $100 per year that Puget Sound Energy says you will your utility bills will go down a full $8.33 per month. Basically you break even. That’s if the appliance makes it 5 years. Your ahead $8.33 every month its lives after that.
Anyone know of any programs in California? I have PG&E.
Thanks Heather! What are your thoughts on the quality of the new washer? I was considering this for both our washer and fridge. However, the below comments on the fridge have me concerned. Any one else done the fridge? TIA!
I purchased this washer and matching dryer last March and really like it. I am in SC, so this was not part of the program above.
They also do toilet too. Contact your lacey olympia city.
Thanks for the heads up, Hue!
Anyone know if the Portland area has these programs?
Wow! That’s great Heather! Good choice, too…..our house came with a front loader (only 7 years old) and I really don’t like it.
My mom and I both had our inefficient refrigerators replaced. It is definitely nice to get a new one. But the new ones are so cheaply made. My mom had to have hers replaced twice and our door shelfs all broke the first week. It’s definitely worth a look into.
Also, call PSE for an energy audit. They have great ideas, sometimes you can get new low flow shower heads and LED light bulbs.
We got a new refrigerator for Mom’s place but I didn’t realize they did washers. I may have to look into that. Our washer and dryer were used when we installed them in 1987.