Efficient dishwashers save water

(21/05/2009)

If all householders throw in the dishtowel and used a dishwasher instead, billions of litres of fresh water could be saved. For example, 16 billion litres of fresh water could be saved in London if all households used a dishwasher instead of washing dishes by hand.

A new Electrolux water savings web site shows you just how much water your city could save.
The study is based on results from the University of Bonn, Germany. The study shows that on average 10.5 litres of water is consumed per person per day when washing a daily amount of dishes by hand, while the best Electrolux dishwasher only uses 2.27 litres of water to wash the same amount. Moreover, time is saved. Since there is less water to heat up, less energy is also needed.

This means a household in UK could save over 7000 litres annually by using an efficient dishwasher. If all households in UK today that are doing the dishes by hand changed to a modern dishwasher, a total of over 125 billion litres could be saved. If all households in the 22 European countries studied were to use an efficient dishwasher instead of washing dishes by hand, 990.2 million m3 of water could be saved! This is more than, for instance, the total annual use of water from supplies in Denmark.

“Everyone can play a role in solving the challenge of water scarcity: consumers, by adopting new technologies and making smart choices in their daily life; policymakers, by encouraging consumers to do so, for instance with legislation and incentive programmes that speed up the replacement of inefficient appliances; industry, by reducing water use and emissions, and equally importantly, to develop and offer products that are continuously more efficient and climate smart”, say Henrik Sundström, Head of Sustainability Affairs, AB Electrolux.

Related categories:  Residential applications   Washing machines and dishwashers   Water efficiency