OFFICE COSTS - 08.10.2020

Dishwasher savings

Unhealthy

Even before the pandemic, around one in three workers were convinced they were falling ill because of poorly washed plates, mugs and cutlery. Every business has of course now made hygiene and cleanliness a priority. Finding a decent dishwasher should be remarkably easy these days because each will come with a label showing how efficient it is.

EU energy efficiency label

This gives products a rating based on their energy consumption. It is a mandatory label and the rating is based on data supplied by the manufacturers themselves. Energy labels show how an appliance ranks on a scale from A to G according to its energy consumption. Class A (green) is the most energy efficient and Class G (red) the least.

A grade. Most new appliances will have an A grade. But because of this up to three further classes can be added to the scale: A+, A++ and A+++.

What are the differences? We chose three different dishwashers from an online supplier, one in each of those upper bands.

A+++ products seem to come at a considerable premium of at least £100 over A++. The cost per year is based on 280 cycles, or five per week. The cost is often based on the most energy-efficient cycle.

What about below A? It’s rare to find machines below an A grade these days. We did find some research that suggested an A would be around £58, with a B coming in at £66 and a C at £75. Tip. The higher the efficiency rating the less the machine will cost to run. However, this needs to be weighed up with any premium and the number of cycles per year.

Example. Acom will need to run a dishwasher twice per day, five days per week and 50 weeks per year. This is a total of 500 cycles. This will cost £72 per year with the A++ machine above and £79 with the A+. It would therefore take eleven years to pay back the premium for the A++.

Further efficiencies

It may sound obvious, but make sure the machine is used properly. Many people will use the heavy-duty cycle every time to ensure they don’t have to rewash things. Currently there is no advice from the government that a hot wash is needed. Only put it on if it’s full. A half-load setting usually uses more than half the energy of a full load so if you do two half-loads, you’ll use more energy than doing one full one. But don’t overload it as this could prevent your dishwasher from doing its job properly.