As it happens, my mom's oven died recently; so, we got a little head start on appliance shopping since we accompanied her on a search for a replacement. We spent today simply browsing around to get an idea what options are available and roughly how much they cost.
Ovens
We basically already decided on an induction stove because of their supreme efficiency and how easy they are to clean. We also want a split oven, since we typically don't need to use a whole oven to cook or bake things like casseroles or pizza. However, we learned that an induction cooktop plus a split/double oven simply does not exist; so if that's what we wanted, we would have to do a separate cooktop and wall oven (which could still be installed under a countertop). However, upon further research, we have found that there is only one option for a split wall oven that only takes up as much space as a regular oven, and it is SUPER expensive (other double wall ovens are literally that - two full-size ovens stacked one-atop another). We also found an Electrolux that claims to be a double oven with induction cooktop; however, the smaller oven portion is really just a variable-temperate warming drawer, so that wouldn't really work. So in the end we decided we would want a regular, full size oven with an induction cooktop.
Microwaves
As it happens, another thing we learned was about the resurgence of convection microwaves. These microwaves serve triple duty: they microwave, they toast, and they bake. Basically they are designed to replace both a microwave and a toaster oven, and to top it off you can get them to fit over the stove and also behave as exhaust fans. My mom said that she used to have one, and she loved it. I'm not sure why they fell out of favor for a while (just a price point issue I assume), but they sound great - especially for reheating pizza, as you get the combined benefits of microwave speeds and toaster crispiness. Plus our smaller baking jobs can be done in one of these, since we can't get a split oven.
Refrigerators
There isn't a whole lot to say about refrigerators, since it seems they are all relatively similar when it comes to efficiency. Fundamentally what differentiates them from one another are features and sizes. Pretty much we know we want french doors and a pull-out freezer on bottom. Beyond that, we're not picky, and don't care about things like ice and water in the door. Pretty much we'll take whatever seems like a good value for the money.
Dishwashers
Like refrigerators, it seems that most dishwashers are on the same level when it comes to efficiency. There are some that claim to be particularly conservative with water or energy, but the differences do not appear significant. For example, Bosch claims to have the most efficient dishwashers, but they mostly achieve this claim by not having a drying cycle. We typically open our dishwasher to preempt this cycle and let our dishes air dry, anyways. We may still consider these types of models, and apparently Bosch makes its appliances in the USA even though it's a German company, but overall we'll take a similar approach as the fridge: so long as it washes dishes and is energy star compliant, we'll take whatever seems like a good deal. Our greatest green impact with any dishwasher can be to continue to make sure we run it only when full (and don't dirty more dishes than necessary in the first place), and can try safer (non-phosphate) detergents.
Washers and dryers
We haven't looked at washers or dryers at all yet, but we know we plan on getting front-loaders. Front-loading washers use less water to start and spin more water out, shortening dry time. Since we'll have them tucked away in a utility room, we couldn't care less about the appearance of our washer/dryer, so that is not a factor. Once again, so long as they're energy star certified we'll just search out a good value.
Now that we have a good idea about what kinds of appliances we want, we should be able to narrow down our search and be educated consumers when the time actually comes to buy them. To help narrow things down further, we will try as much as possible to by products made in America. And who knows, the purchasing may come sooner than later - if, when my mom goes to buy her new oven, anyone feels like giving us a nice little bundle deal and can hold our appliances for a few months, we may be business (even though it feels super early at this point).
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