Culprits...Number 3

I once had an interesting cab ride. The cabbie basically told me about how disappointing his old refrigerator was, because it died after 11 years. Meanwhile his cab lasts 4 years and works 10 hours a day. The refrigerator runs 24 hours a day and lasts 3 times longer.

His math still puzzles me...(along with the subject of the conversation)


The simple math behind operating an eleven year old refrigerator is $198/year: 18 cents per hour, the current NSTAR rate, times operating cost or 1100 kilowatt per hours.

The newer units are much more efficient and cost about $81/year: the same 18 cents times only 450 kilowatts per hour.

With price hikes expected in energy, a new refrigerator will save the average consumer between $120 to $150 per year