Don’t be afraid to use a long washing program. They help lower your bill.
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Save money with longer washing and rinsing programs.
© Rozhnovskaya Tanya / Shutterstock.com
The sharp increase in energy costs is at the top of most people’s list of concerns. So you’re not alone if you’re looking for ways to reduce electricity consumption at home. But if you want to achieve this through shorter programs for the dishwasher and washing machine, you will certainly increase your electricity bill.
Dishwasher in the PC WORLD price comparison
Washing machines in the PC-WELT price comparison
When you’re looking for ways to save on your home appliances, there’s an ally you might not have considered: the engineers who designed and built them. For all device manufacturers, the biggest challenge right now is to develop more energy-efficient devices.
If you bought your washing machine or dishwasher in the last few years, chances are it will work differently than the machines you had 10 or 15 years ago. The new appliances are also much more energy efficient, but to reap the energy savings they offer you need to use them the right way.
For example, an acquaintance recently bought a new washing machine and was very concerned when he found that the washing cycles took much longer than the old one. Eventually, the acquaintance stopped using the “eco” wash cycle because he felt it was taking too long and switched to a quick wash cycle, believing it would save money.
But the opposite is true!
Modern appliances wash and rinse longer and cheaper
We spoke to Moohyung Lee, Samsung’s executive vice president and head of the brand’s digital home appliance R&D team. He explained how the company’s machines are becoming more and more energy efficient: “By turning off the heating, we can save a lot of the energy needed for a washing machine. But the washing time will be a bit longer because we only use cold water.”
In fact, Samsung claims its upcoming AI Ecobubble washing machines will use a whopping 70% less electricity. How is that possible? They use a mix of technologies: a bubble generator and digital inverter technology that responds to sensor data to choose the optimal settings for each load.
Of course, this does not only apply to Samsung devices. All washing machines and dishwashers use most of their energy to heat cold water. So the most efficient way is to use less water overall and not heat it as much. And that’s exactly how the eco modes work. They use 35 to 59 percent less energy than a hot wash. However, that means a longer run time to achieve the same cleaning performance.
For example, the Hisense HV651D60 dishwasher’s eco mode lasts over three hours, more than ten times longer than the fastest cycle and about three times longer than the standard cycle.
4 tips to save money when using your dishwasher or washing machine
The quick wash programs are actually there for your convenience. You should only use them if you need clean clothes or dishes quickly. These programs use more water and heat it to a higher temperature to get laundry clean quickly – but at the expense of more energy consumption. And of course that means higher electricity bills.
Read the user guide to find the most energy efficient programs.
Use the eco settings, often marked with a leaf icon.
Don’t wash half loads – and don’t overfill your machine
Don’t worry if the program runs longer
Call up full heating output from time to time
However, you should not operate dishwashers exclusively in eco or money-saving mode. From time to time you should definitely choose a non-eco program with full heat output – ideally if you have loaded particularly greasy dishes. This occasional heating ensures that all fat residues are really removed from the machine. Saving too much money and eco can harm dishwashers in the long run.
Dishwasher in the PC WORLD price comparison
Washing machines in the PC-WELT price comparison
The article first appeared in English here at our sister publication Techadvisor.