3 pros!
Energy-efficient refrigerators and other smart appliances offer more options, but often don't last as long as their low-tech predecessors.
It’s not your imagination: That new-model, energy-efficient refrigerator you paid good money for didn’t last as long as the old one. Repairs were more frequent, and definitely more expensive.
Highly rated appliance repair technicians say the No. 1 culprit for high-tech appliance malfunction is the control board, which is the computerized system that operates the appliance.
“I call it built-in obsolescence,” says Walter Naumovitz, owner of Allen’s Appliance Service of Orange City, Florida.
Naumovitz, who began repairing appliances as a teen in the 1980s, says it used to take about a decade for a major appliance to fail.
“They don’t intentionally make them so they fail within five years, but they do,” he says. “Old, mechanical man-made stuff just lasted longer. It may not have been efficient as far as electrical consumption, but they would keep working.”
'Smarter' not always better
The desire for an energy-saving, attractive-looking refrigerator in his newly remodeled kitchen caused Columbus, Ohio-area Angie's List member Jeff Miller to ditch his 25-year-old, working refrigerator for a new one that he says died within a couple days. The second replacement lasted about eight years, but Miller says he still had to repair the control board and ice maker.
Fed up with the repairs, Miller went back to the basics. His current refrigerator doesn’t even have an ice maker, he says, adding that his wife and daughter must make ice the old fashioned way by filling ice trays with water.
“It’s a nice-looking refrigerator, but it has no frills on it,” Miller says.
Bells and whistles can boost cost
With higher repair costs happening more frequently, technicians say maintenance costs often outweigh energy savings.
“You will never recover the expense of the new machine and all the repairs with your savings on electricity and water and gas,” says Tyler Adkins, owner of A+ Certified Appliance of Little Elm, Texas. Additionally, Adkins notes, the old appliance often goes into a landfill.
The average repair for a major appliance costs about $300 to $400, appliance repair pros say. In the past, that same repair averaged about $200. While the control board costs less to manufacture than mechanical parts made of metal, repairs are arduous to diagnose. The extra time for a diagnosis costs consumers more in labor charges, and cuts down on the number of repairs technicians can complete in a day.
“We have to access the computer and let the computer tell us what’s wrong,” Naumovitz says. “A lot of times, just that process can take up to 20 minutes.”
Maintenance means less frequent repairs
At some point, all appliances malfunction or fail. However, that doesn’t mean appliance owners can’t stave off the inevitable. Repair techs advise consumers to clean the coils of the refrigerator regularly, don’t overload the washer, regularly remove lint from the dryer’s lint filter and have a certified appliance repair technician remove lint buildup inside the dryer.
“Just like you change oil to the car, you should have your appliances serviced,” Adkins says. “People don’t think of that. That’s the best thing you can do to keep your appliances well maintained.”
Editor's note: This is an updated version of an article that was originally posted on July 11, 2014.
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