Super-Efficient Home Appliances Initiative
Dishwashers

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NEW SPECIFICATION FOR 2007
In June 2006, CEE established a new – and more stringent – specification for dishwashers. It will become effective Jan. 1, 2007.

CEE’s current specification includes Energy Factor (EF) and maximum annual kWh requirements. EF measures the number of cycles a dishwasher can run with 1 kWh of electricity. The maximum annual kWh requirement is intended to limit dishwasher standby power use.

On Jan. 1 2007, the EF requirement for CEE Tier 1 will increase from 0.62 to 0.65 and the maximum annual kWh requirement will be changed from 355 to 339 accordingly. CEE Tier 2 will remain the same, (0.68 EF, 325 max. kWh/year).

In addition, the ENERGY STAR level for dishwashers will increase to 0.65 EF in 2007, making it the same as the EF requirement for CEE Tier 1. The federal minimum standard for dishwashers is 0.46 EF and there are no plans for a revision in the near future. Neither ENERGY STAR nor the federal standard includes a maximum annual kWh requirement.

For more information on CEE’s dishwasher specification, see the CEE Newsletter story.


SEHA-qualified dishwashers
Through the Super-Efficient Home Appliances Initiative (SEHA), CEE is currently promoting energy-efficient dishwashers that use 26 percent less electricity than the federal minimum. Dishwashers qualifying for this initiative are non-soil sensing ENERGY STAR® models that have an Energy Factor of 0.58 or higher.

In addition to dishwashers, SEHA efficiency specifications have been established for clothes washers, room air conditioners and refrigerators.

Dishwashers account for 1.4 percent of the total residential energy use. A majority of the energy usage in dishwashers occurs during the hot water and the dry cycle, with the hot water cycle providing the most significant portion. An external water heater generally supplies hot water to the dishwasher. All dishwashers manufactured in the U.S. have a booster heater that further raises and maintains the water temperature.

In 1997, 50.1 percent of American homes had dishwashers. The average lifetime of a dishwasher is 9-12 years, with industry experts estimating replacements of roughly 3.5 million in 1999.

 
Additional information about manufacturers of SEHA-compliant products is available in the Resource Library.

Dishwasher survey now available
The Dishwasher Survey Report, sponsored by CEE and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, is now available on-line. The purpose of this research was to gather better information about how households use their dishwashers and was intended to inform the federal rulemaking process for a new dishwasher test procedure.

Survey results address issues about the appropriateness of test procedures used to determine dishwasher energy and water efficiency, especially for "soil sensor" machines that adjust water and energy use depending upon the amount of food left on the dishes. This report also details the average number of times households run their dishwashers each year.

The full report and appendices are available on this web site.

Results from CEE ENERGY STAR Household Survey
The 2005 CEE ENERGY STAR Household Survey Report is now available on-line. This study, sponsored by CEE and 16 of its members, was designed to measure public awareness and understanding of the ENERGY STAR label.


CONTACT
For further information about super-efficient dishwashers and the SEHA Initiative, contact Eileen Eaton at 617-589-3949, ext. 203.


Technology Summary

Dishwashers fall into two basic categories – food-disposing and non-food disposing. In food-disposing models, particles are drained with the rinse water. In non-food disposing models, particles are collected in a strainer that must be emptied and rinsed manually. The majority of American manufacturers make food-disposing machines.

Machines in both categories may or may not have a filter, which generally comes in two types – coarse or fine. With coarse filters, food particles stay in suspension and can be re-deposited onto dishes after washing. As a result, a larger amount of rinse water is typically needed than in fine filtered models. Fine filter models generally have less food re-deposited, as most particles are filtered out prior to re-circulation in the wash cycle. Approximately half of the dishwashers sold are fine-filtered models and half have coarse or no filters.

With higher efficiency models, payback periods that are less than the lifetime of a dishwasher (with a life-cycle cost lower than a baseline model) can be achieved. The expected life of a dishwasher is 9-12 years.

Some of the technical options that will achieve these savings include:

  • Adaptive control, making use of fuzzy logic that senses the load size or soil level. Two American manufacturers, Maytag and General Electric, produce such models
  • Improvements to the food filter that reduce the amount of food re-deposited (e.g. fine mesh)
  • Modified spray-arm, sump geometry and/or pump design to reduce the inflow of water per cycle or overall water requirements per cycle
  • Motor improvements from split phase or shaded pole motors to more efficient, permanent split-capacitors
  • Added or better Insulation
  • Improvements to dry cycle, possibly through increased use of air drying or tighter control over time allotted for dry cycle


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