Be clean and green (and mean)
Washing Machines
The average washing machine does around 1 wash every weekday, and wastes a large amount of energy and water compared to the best new models. It can typically cost you around £30 a year in electricity, and even more in water bills if your house is metered. As well as power consumption, you should also check the water consumption of any new machine you buy.
Washing machines mainly use their energy to heat up water, because in the UK most are fed with cold water only. There are 2 main ways you can save energy from your washing:
1. Make some small adjustments to your washing habits:
o Using a 40°C wash cycle rather than 60°C means you use a third less electricity. Use a 30°C cycle and the amount of electricity saved (not to mention money) will be even higher. And modern washing machines and powders are just as effective at lower temperatures
o Always wash a full load and if you can't, use a half-load or economy programme if your machine has one
2. When your old machine needs replacing, buy an efficient washing machine - they can use a third less energy than standard models. However, this is a less simple task than it first seems.
You should look out for machines with an ‘A' EU energy rating for energy efficiency, wash quality and also spin capability. Why spin capability? If you use a tumble dryer to dry clothes, you also want a machine that achieves a high spin rating. A high spin rating means that your clothes are already dried well, before you put them in a tumble dryer, where it will cost more in electricity and money to dry them. Machines that are given the Energy Saving Recommended logo by the Energy Saving Trust score ‘A' in all three areas - energy efficiency, wash quality and spin capability.
Tumble Dryers
Each time you turn on the tumble dryer it costs you 25 to 30 pence: over the course of a year it adds up to around £40 for the average household.
The best way to save energy from a Tumble Dryer is to use it less often - and dry your clothes on a line instead. In the summer drying clothes outside will give them a nice fresh feel and smell; drying them inside helps cool the house on a hot day.
If you are buying a tumble dryer, you should also go for an energy efficient model. The best models are condenser dryers with heat pumps. This is because they recycle a lot of the heat that they use, and so use up to 40% less electricity on a long cycle. They are more expensive, but the savings on electricity over their lifetime will more than pay for this.
If you do not want to pay the extra for a dryer with a heat pump, then we recommend that you buy one with a condenser, which keeps the warmth it generates in your home, rather than a venting type, which expels the warm air outside. Overall this will save energy.
As with any appliance, you should buy a machine that has the best possible EU Energy Efficiency label (A), plus the Energy Saving Recommended logo
