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See also: Commercial Dishwashers
Dishwashers that have earned the ENERGY STAR are, on average, 10% more energy efficient and 20% more water efficient than standard models.
ENERGY STAR certified dishwashers use advanced technology to get your dishes clean while using less water and energy.
Dishwasher technology has improved dramatically over the last decade. New ENERGY STAR certified models include several innovations that reduce energy and water consumption and improve performance.
Using water-saving techniques can save you money, and diverts less water from our rivers, bays, and estuaries which helps keep the environment healthy. It can also reduce water and wastewater treatment costs and the amount of energy used to treat, pump, and heat water. This lowers energy demand, which helps prevent air pollution.
It's not just the dry western areas of the country which need to be concerned with water efficiency. As our population continues to grow, demands on precious water resources increase. There are many opportunities to use household water more efficiently without reducing services. Homes with high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliances save about 30 percent of indoor water use and yield substantial savings on water, sewer, and energy bills. Start saving today.
For more information on how you can save water, visit EPA's Using Water Efficiently: Ideas for Residences .
Current Specification Effective Date: |
January 20, 2012 |
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Dishwashers originally qualified for the ENERGY STAR label in June, 1996. ENERGY STAR certified dishwashers are 10% more efficient than non-qualified models and are more efficient than models that simply meet the federal minimum standard for energy efficiency.
Check the yellow EnergyGuide label.
The EnergyGuide label tells you how much energy it takes to operate a dishwasher. Use it to compare the energy use of similar models and estimate annual operating costs. Learn How to Use the EnergyGuide Label.
Choose the right size for your home.
Standard-capacity models hold more than eight place settings and six serving pieces, while compact-capacity models hold up to that amount. If you have to operate a compact model more frequently, over time you may use more energy than you would with a standard model.
Choose a dishwasher with several wash cycle options.
If your dishes are only slightly soiled, you can use a light or energy-saving wash cycle, which uses less water and operates for a shorter period of time.
Related Information:
If you still wash your dishes by hand, you’re wasting more than just time.
Washing dishes in a new ENERGY STAR certified dishwasher rather than hand washing can cut your utility bills by about $40 per year.
Instead of scrubbing, rinsing, and drying each dish, just load them all in an ENERGY STAR dishwasher and press start. Using an ENERGY STAR certified dishwasher can save you over 230 hours of personal time over the course of a year. That’s almost 10 days!
ENERGY STAR certified dishwashers have features which result in better cleaning. For example, they boost water temperatures to 140 degrees, which allows for improved disinfection compared to hand washing.
Thought you were efficient? A new ENERGY STAR certified dishwasher uses less than half as much energy as washing dishes by hand and saves more than 5,000 gallons of water each year!
Because they use less energy, ENERGY STAR certified products reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels. By reducing water consumption, they also help protect our lakes, streams and oceans.
Dish Washing Best PracticesTake advantage of these best practices to save more money on your utility bills.
Rinsing dishes can use up to 20 gallons of water before the dishes are even loaded. Save yourself the rinsing—just scrape food off dishes. ENERGY STAR certified dishwashers and today’s detergents are designed to do the cleaning so you don’t have to. If your dirty dishes sit overnight, use your dishwasher’s rinse feature. It uses a fraction of the water needed to hand rinse.
Dishwashers use about the same amount of energy and water regardless of the number of dishes inside, so run full loads whenever possible.
Select the no-heat drying option. It gives good drying results with less energy.
These are the top FAQs related to Dishwashers and the ENERGY STAR program.