Energy-saving washing machine

There are several no-cost opportunities to save energy and money with your washing machine.

• About 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heating the water. Washing your clothes in warm water instead of hot will cut energy use by as much as 45 percent while washing in cold water can save as much as 90 percent. Simply switching to cold instead of hot water in the wash cycle can add up to significant savings per year.
• Always use cold water for the rinse cycle. Your clothes don’t get any cleaner using warm or hot water in the rinse cycle.
• Wash only full loads.
• Use the lowest water level required to clean your clothes.

For those who do a lot of laundry

Front-loading washers use as little as 40 percent of the water that a top-loading model does which reduces the amount of energy required to heat the water. Since most of the energy used by your washing machine goes to heating the water, this can be a substantial energy savings. However front-loaders cost more up front (around $400 more than top-loaders) so it would require fairly heavy usage to make up for the additional cost in five to six years.

See energy-saving tips for dryers.