A convection oven is hot! Washer and dryer sets in colors like red, blue and green to match the décor of your house are even hotter! Stainless steel refrigerators continue to grab people’s attention. Along the lines of television – LCD (liquid crystal display) is the way to go. Energy-efficient appliances that help reduce electricity bills are definitely all the rage! With many people now trying to stretch their dollars as far as they can, energy-saving appliances seem to be the order of the day, according to some of the major appliance purveyors on the island. “One of the biggest stories [out there today seems to be] the outrageous [electricity] bills that people have been getting, so we’ve had many customers come in looking for the best appliances that won’t use too much energy to operate,” says Master Technicians and Best Buy Furniture marketing manager Noelle Dorsett, who says Energy Star appliances are the most exciting trends of 2010. “We advise that they purchase appliances approved by Energy Star which will save them a lot in the long run since they consume as much as 30 percent less energy than devices that aren’t approved,” said Dorsett. Besides being a popular brand locally, Dorsett says most, if not all appliances from Whirlpool are energy efficient and Energy Star approved, and if you are looking for a good purchase, that would be the line to look at first. Ideal advice for persons like Leslie Aranha, 47, who has been using the same washer and dryer set that she purchased more than a decade ago. Her current washer has two settings and is not at all energy efficient because her loads aren’t always small or large so she uses too much water and also uses too much energy to wring the clothes. “This year I think I’ll put my old washer to rest and get a new one,” she says. Aranha is hoping to upgrade to newer, more energy efficient appliances in the hopes of saving money on her electricity bills. While she’s looking for energy efficiently, she also wants appliances in her house that are stylish too. According to Dorsett, even though you definitely want to have the latest features on your appliances, before your purchase what is offered to you, she says to always find out how many kilowatts the appliance uses to function and ask to see the energy guide – a document produced by the United States and Canadian governments, which will show you were on a kilowatt measurement scale your device falls. “The lower it is on the scale, the better. If you do this, you will be better guided as to which appliance is better for your wallet initially and in the long run,” she says. When purchasing an appliance with all the “bells and whistles” she says to ensure that you think carefully about whether you will use all of the features or not, so that you don’t needlessly purchase something high-tech and only use the basic features. Dorsett says persons looking to purchase washers and dryers should be conscious of their energy consumption. Her advice is to purchase a gas-operated dryer, which she says would be better economically in the long run. The dryer starts at $825 and the washing machines are $937.50 cash. Other hot trends that Dorsett says will be all the range in 2010 are the Energy Star refrigerators which retail for $1,440 and the French-door refrigerators which start at $2,775, that everyone seems to be looking at. “The traditional top or bottom mount refrigerators that most people usually have takes away so much room from the refrigerator section, or the freezer section, so people are looking for ways to have more room, so this French-door refrigerator will balance the space issues,” she says. Dorsett also says convection ovens, which start at $1,575 are also a hot item because they operate so much more efficiently than the normal oven. “With the convection oven there is a fan that circulates the heat evenly throughout so that when you are baking something like a turkey it cooks more quickly and the outside is crispier while the inside is moister because the juices have been trapped inside rather than evaporated and dried out by the heat of the oven,” she says.