"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
"Energy Star" and government refrigerator efficiency numbers are bogus.
They measure empty freezers when most of the cost of running a
freezer is making (and unmaking) ice. They don't measure the cost of
air-conditioning to remove the heat your refrigerator generates inside
your house (or conversely the value of that heat when you're heating).
The dollar numbers are based on fantasy prices for electricity. It's
just a huge joke of technical boob-bait designed to sell appliances
you don't really need.

Just read the test methods if you don't believe this.

The methods may not be "real life" but as long as they test all brands the
same way, it is a way of noting that Brand A is half the cost to operate
compared to Brand B.

I needed a new window AC this past summer. In our state, there is no sales
tax on Energy Star models so I set out to find one. Found them I did. They
were about $300 more than the non-compliant. Guess what I bought for $199?