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Energy Star Appliances Save More Than the Label Suggests
The efficiency comparison on an Energy Star label pits the new Energy Star machine against a standard machine that is also new, even though the model you're replacing is likely to be older.
(By Joanne Carole -- Associated Press)
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As you check out new dishwashers on a showroom floor, you will quickly discover that you may save more energy than this because many models are much more efficient than the Energy Star standard.
The turnover rate for washing machines is the same as for dishwashers, about 12 years. If that's your situation, you will find that you have more choices than you did in 1995. Also, the Energy Star criteria for washers now include water savings. To qualify, a washer must use 40 percent less energy and about 30 to 60 percent less water than a standard top-loader.
The main difference in the new washers is how they extract the dirt from your laundry. With the conventional top-loader, dirt is removed by rubbing clothing against a large central agitator. The new-style top-loader has no central agitator, and dirt is removed by flipping clothing up and down against a wash plate in the bottom of the basket. With the new front-loader, dirt is removed by tumbling clothing up and down in water as the basket turns.
Both of the new types of washers are more energy- and water-efficient than conventional top-loaders.
Compared with the washer you bought in 1995, a 2007 Energy Star conventional top-loader uses about 40 percent less energy and about 25 percent less water. The 2007 Energy Star wash-plate top-loader uses about 60 percent less energy and about 30 percent less water. The 2007 Energy Star front-loader uses about 75 percent less energy and about 60 percent less water.
As with Energy Star dishwashers, there's a wide variation in the efficiencies of Energy Star washers.
Another advantage of the new washers is vastly increased spin speeds. They extract 26 percent to 30 percent more water, which reduces drying time. This also saves energy. Comparing the washer spin speeds to a car, Whirlpool engineer Ted Ernst said a front-loader with a spin speed of 1,300 revolutions per minute is like a sports car zooming along at 90 to 100 miles per hour, while the standard top-loader spin speed of 600 revolutions per minute is like an old sedan puttering along at 40 to 50 miles an hour.
Katherine Salant can be contacted via her Web site,http:/
¿ 2007 Katherine Salant
