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Cross-appliance guides: repair vs. replace decisions, energy efficiency, extended warranty analysis, and general maintenance strategies.
Not every appliance question fits neatly into a single category. Should you repair a 9-year-old refrigerator or put that money toward a new one? Is an extended warranty worth the price? How do you find a reliable repair technician who won't upsell unnecessary parts? These cross-cutting questions affect every appliance in your home, and our general guides tackle them with data from thousands of real repair jobs.
The repair-vs-replace decision is the most common question we get, and the answer depends on three factors: the appliance's age relative to its expected lifespan, the cost of the specific repair relative to the replacement cost, and whether the failure is a one-time event or a symptom of cascading wear. We publish a decision matrix for every major appliance type, updated annually with current parts and retail prices.
Energy efficiency guides in this section go beyond the yellow EnergyGuide label. We break down the real-world operating cost differences between models, explain California-specific utility rebate programs (SMUD, PG&E, SCE), and calculate the payback period for upgrading from a working but inefficient appliance. These numbers change yearly, and our guides reflect current rates.
138 articles
When to repair vs replace any appliance: the 50% rule, an age-and-cost matrix, and a table of lifespans, repair costs, and replacement prices for all 7 appliances.
When to repair vs replace any appliance: the 50% rule, an age-and-cost matrix, and a table of lifespans, repair costs, and replacement prices for all 7 appliances.
Comprehensive guide to appliance repair costs in 2026. Covers refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, oven repairs with pricing breakdowns.
A residential air handler is usually 17 to 24 inches wide and 40 to 60 inches tall, depending on capacity, with a depth around 20 to 25 inches.
A built-in coffee system fits a nominal 24-inch cabinet cutout, standing only 17 to 20 inches tall and 20 to 24 inches deep.
A central AC condenser is a square outdoor cabinet, usually 26 to 38 inches on each side and 28 to 48 inches tall depending on the system's cooling capacity.
A portable home dehumidifier is a small floor unit, roughly 11 to 16 inches wide and 16 to 24 inches tall, while a ducted whole-home model is wider and.
An electric fireplace ranges widely by install type, from a 23-inch insert to a 60-inch wall-mounted panel, and just 4 to 16 inches deep.
A residential gas furnace comes in a cabinet 14.5 to 24.5 inches wide, all standing 34 to 40 inches tall and 28 to 30 inches deep.
An air-source heat pump is a square outdoor cabinet much like a cooling condenser, 28 to 39 inches on a side and 28 to 50 inches tall, but it works all year.
A portable hot tub is a roughly square shell, 60 to 96 inches on each side and 29 to 40 inches tall, sized by how many bathers it seats.
An instant hot water dispenser is a tiny under-sink appliance, just 4 to 7 inches wide and 10 to 15 inches tall, with a matching faucet on the sink deck.
A mini-split pairs a slim indoor head, 30 to 45 inches wide but only 8 to 13 inches tall, with a small outdoor condenser sized 26 to 38 inches wide.
A pellet stove is a compact heater, 20 to 34 inches wide and 20 to 38 inches tall, with clearances far tighter than a wood stove.
A portable air conditioner is a floor-standing tower, 14 to 22 inches wide and 24 to 36 inches tall, that vents out a window through a hose.
An under-sink reverse-osmosis system is a compact filter-and-tank set, 9 to 18 inches wide and 14 to 18 inches tall, while a whole-home unit is far larger.
A sump pump and its basin together occupy an 18 to 24 inch pit sunk into the floor, with the pump body 22 to 36 inches tall depending on the style.
Small, standard, high-capacity and lowboy tank diameters and heights — plus a table that turns the closet or crawl space you actually have, overhead clearance included, into the tank that fits it.
Gas, electric and point-of-use tankless sizes with the wall clearance and vent clearance each needs — plus a table on why a unit 14 inches wide still claims a wall far larger than itself.
A built-in trash compactor is a base-cabinet appliance, 12 or 15 inches wide and 34 to 36 inches tall, that slides in beside the sink.
A water softener is a tall resin tank plus a brine tank, with the resin tank 9 to 24 inches in diameter and 38 to 54 inches tall.
A well pressure tank is a cylinder 15 to 26 inches in diameter and 24 to 60 inches tall, sized to the well's flow.
A window air conditioner is a box 16 to 27 inches wide and 12 to 19 inches tall, sized to the window opening it fills.
A 240-volt two-stage compressor draws 15 to 20 A for 3,600 to 4,800 W on a 25 to 30 A breaker and a 120-volt portable 12 to 15 A — plus a table on what the receptacle in your garage will actually run.
An air purifier is one of the lightest loads in the house: a whole-room cleaner runs on 120 volts at just 1 to 2 amps, 50 to 120 watts, on a 15-amp branch.
A 2 to 3-ton heat pump draws 15 to 20 A at 240 V behind a 30 to 40 A breaker, a 4 to 5-ton unit 25 to 30 A behind 45 to 60 A — plus a table explaining the gap and the disconnect that comes with it.
An attic ventilating fan is a light 120-volt load: a roof-mount powered ventilator draws 2 to 4 amps for 240 to 480 watts on a 15-amp branch through a 5-15R.
A plain bathroom fan draws 1 to 2 A and 40 to 120 W on a 15 A branch, while the same fixture with a built-in heater jumps to 12 to 13 A and its own 20 A circuit — here is what that swap actually requires.
A heated bidet seat runs on 120 volts through a ground-fault 5-15R outlet beside the toilet.
A standard dehumidifier draws 4 to 7 A and 480 to 800 W on a 15 A branch, a whole-home crawl-space unit 7 to 9 A — plus a table on the basement circuit it will be running on continuously.
A ductless mini-split takes its circuit from the label, not from a stopwatch on the compressor.
An electric baseboard heater is landed straight onto a line-voltage thermostat, never an outlet.
A plug-in electric fireplace runs on 120 volts, drawing 12 to 13 amps for 1,400 to 1,500 watts on a 15 to 20-amp branch through a 5-15R outlet.