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Green Collar Careers - Laundry Appliances

With laundry appliances consuming an average of 6.7% of the electricity used there are other variances to consider which may increase or decrease that factor.  Homes with toddlers or teenage tend to have a much heavier laundry demand.

Electricity is consumed by operating the washer heating the water (if water is electrically heated) and running the dryer (if an electric dryer).   Simple common sense rules go a long way in the laundry room.

Washing Machines
Washing Machines are sized to operate most efficiently with a specific load size.  Too small of a load and energy is wasted.  Too large of a load and energy is wasted by loading down the motor and in the drying cycle.

Not all loads will require the full cycle of cleaning.  A light duty cycle typically takes about 2/3's the power for a heavy duty cycle.

Hot water cycles do very little to remove soil although they help a little bit with disinfecting.  The emphasis is "little bit" as water above 110° is a little more likely to break "bonds" of some bacteria to fabrics.  To be more effective then 110° provides requires much more heat.

Probably one of the best practices is to post set of simple large text guidelines for laundry and washing machine settings near the washing machine - that goes a lot further then most people expect. 

Electric Dryers
Just like water heaters, natural gas is the most cost effective fuel. Electric dryers typically consume 4-5% of the total electric power, and that will vary with the occupant’s lifestyle. Most people tend to overuse dryers simply because they take for granted the task a dryer performs.

Most dryers have settings for “dryness level”. Choosing the lowest level will save about 1-2% of the total power usage.