The Rant-o-matic 2000 home appliance bonanza jamboree

Moving has forced me to look at home appliances from various angles. Literally. All of the major appliances at our apartment are energy rated A, since I’ve always found it the right choice, plus they save a bit of power too.

What is it that makes people buy less-ecological appliances? Price. No other, real reason (the other two, less relevant being ignorance and indifference). Why are eco-friendly appliances more expensive then? Well, the cost of manufacturing something that is ecological is probably higher, due to the quality of the parts, workmanship and testing (not only of the device, but for certifications and standards).

The real question is: Why doesn’t the government subsidize the cost so that people could buy more ecological appliances? This of course extends to cars (and, I’m sure, many other things).  Doesn’t the government keep telling us to save electricity by not keeping lights on unnecessarily, or heating our apartments when we’re not at home? Isn’t that the right thing to do? Everyone chips in for a better, brighter tomorrow?

Well, everyone except the government, of course.

So, what possible reason would the government have for not incentivizing us peons to buy better appliances? Well, there are a few reasons ranging from the tinfoily to the credible.

• The government is broke as it is, and has no time to babysit us idiots
• The government should not even be required to babysit us idiots
• The government does not want, can’t afford, [insert reason here] to invest in a cleaner, more ecological future, despite what it keeps telling us
• The government doesn’t want to invest in a more ecological future in this specific way (instead they will promote cleaner cars, such as hydrogen cars, electric cars, hybrids and.. oh wait. No. They don’t do this. Otherwise there would be tax-breaks for buyers of these vehicles! Nevermind!)
• Everyone buying A-grade appliances wouldn’t make a difference in the long run (perhaps very true)
• The government is in cahoots with the power companies, and other evil entities, and doesn’t want us to buy the eco-friendly stuff! (But who’s in cahoots with the retailers and the manufacturers that don’t make any money from people buying the cheapest appliances available? What about those guys?!)

I’m sure there are reasons for grading appliances. A washing machine graded A probably saves you a few bucks every year in power and water compared to the washing maching graded E. How much? Five inches.

So in the end, I’m left very confused as to what the government wants. They want us to use less power, drive less, use ecological cars, appliances and live our lives in a sane way. But they don’t really give us much incentive to do so. What do they really want, and are they telling us things that are not true, or that are not realistic because that’s what is expected of them? Perhaps. I mean, you can’t have ministers telling us to pollute more, now can you?