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constant use. The second is lighting systems. Third is actually the televi sion, basedon American statistics. Fourth are clothes dryers. Obviously these depend on yourusage patterns. We decided to focus on the most efficient refrigerator, lighting andclothes washer and dryer systems as well as an efficient dish washer. We have nocable or satellite connection so our television usage is minimal.One SunFrost fridge was originally planned. A high efficiency conventional Maytagwas selected in the end because it provided more space (meaning we would not need asecond SunFrost), was almost as efficient (actually it is rated at about twice the 19cubic foot Sun Frost, although the Maytag we selected is 22 cubic feet of internalspace) which we rationalized by committing to taking the reduced cost of the Maytag(about half the price, a savings of more than $1,500) and applying that to extraphotovoltaic panels to make up for the extra energy requirements.An Asko dishwasher was the most efficient we could find at our local discountappliance retailer Home and Rural Appliances. The Bosch clothes washer and dryerwere the most efficient available we believe. The washer has an Energuide stickerthat showed a rating of only 189 kwh per year that is off the scale when compared toother washers. It also uses much less water than other washers. The machine alsoappears to be of a very good quality design and construction so it should last longer.A microwave/convection oven provides much of the cooking requirements. It is anold Panasonic model. We have justified this because it is one we have had and by notbuying a new one we save on the waste. In general microwave ovens are very efficientso we use it for many tasks. As well, this oven provides a convection oven modewhich is also quite efficient for jobs that require a small oven instead of the wastedenergy of heating a small amount of food in a large conventional oven.We selected the Creda oven because it was the smallest we could find at our localretailer. It was however big enough to cook a reasonably sized turkey for familydinners. This electric oven is very simple but is a convection oven which enhances theefficiency. In fact, in the first seve ral weeks of use we were amazed at how little time ittook this oven to heat up, minimizing any pre-heating requirements, reducing overallcooking times and doing an excellent job of cooking at lower than normaltemperatures. Unfortunately this model did n ot come with any Energuide ratings andwe have been unable to get this information from the manufacturer. We selected aGE cooktop because it had the lowest Energuide ratings of those available at Homeand Rural Appliances. The new standard glass top, fast heating elements haveperformed well.267