When is Old Better than New ?

There was a time when engineers did their best to make products last as long as possible. The goal was to create the highest possible quality for the best price. But in the 1930s, the idea of designing products for a limited life span began to take hold. By the 1950s, it was common practice. Today, many of us find that buying old is better than buying new. 

This idea of limiting the lifespan of products by design is known as planned obsolescence. While the idea has led to huge growth in sales and profits for manufacturers, it has done enormous harm to the consumer. Some engineers saw this philosophy as a potential problem.

One editorial posted in the Design News, discussed the ethics of planned obsolescence. For management, the idea was an economic windfall. For engineers reading the article, responses were both angry and confused. Engineers saw that the idea would cheat consumers and be a detriment to the engineering profession. 

When we view planned obsolescence through the lens of environmental protection, we see that the concept does more than cheat consumers. It damages the planet we rely on for sustenance. Throwing away appliances that would otherwise be useful and productive creates more waste and uses the additional energy to build replacement appliances. 

The government has been offering help to consumers who wish to buy more energy efficient appliances carrying the Energy Star label. On the surface, it seems like a smart idea, but when we look deeper, we find that the old may be better. Although older appliances use more energy, there are ways to reduce the energy consumption of these older appliances. In addition, the new appliances are designed to fail within just a few years, meaning the energy to build a new one, and the landfill space to be rid of the old one, increases. 

John Humphreys, a long time appliance technician, says, “There are appliances that I would not buy or take if they were free…In six years you will have to throw out your new Appliances, and then re-buy again. This never ends because many NEW appliances are made to throw away. You saved money on the electricity on some models and now you have to spend a lot more on replacements.” 

The most obvious example of planned obsolescence can be seen in modern sewing machines. Today’s models often break down more than once within the first five years. But older machines still work well, with little maintenance and little need for an electronics expert. The perfect example is my “new” sewing machine. It was made in the 1950s. It came with a 20 year Guarantee. Now, about 60 years later, it is still living up to its promise. Purchased at about 1/5 the cost of a new machine, it works better that the two machines I purchased in the last ten years. My first was a Brother, a good machine for its time. The Brother lasted about five years. The second was a Harmony that has broken down twice in the five years I have owned it. The New Home sewing machine, now sixty years old, works better than both of my “new” machines do. I picked it up for about $40 at the Salvation Army.

Had I the common sense to purchase a 1950’s machine for $40 dollars ten years ago, I would have saved about $500 in sewing machines, not including repair costs for breakdowns. This leads me to believe that keeping my old appliances may be better for the environment and my wallet.

I suspect that the same is true for other appliances, such as the refrigerator. In order to save energy, these appliances are made with smaller condensers. Smaller condensers must work harder, causing them to burn out sooner. This means that a new refrigerator would have to be replaced in just a few years. In this case, keeping the old refrigerator and running it with a power-controlling device is probably cheaper in the longer run. 

According to the US Dept of Energy, there are many energy saving tactics that do not require an investment in new appliances. For instance, you can save a lot of energy simply by unplugging appliances when you aren’t using them. In the average home, ¾ of the energy used on appliances is spent while the appliances are turned off. Therefore, unplugging them could save you 75% of the electricity you use on those appliances. In addition, power-controlling devices can be used on older appliances to reduce energy consumption.

So, when is old better than new? Any time the device is something that has been designed to fail. New electronics will probably need to be re-bought, since technology advances faster than manufacturing. But for the average household appliance, old is the new “new.”
 

Jessica Bosari is an Internet copywriter and blogger for various publications and her own blog. You can read more of Jessica's work here.