U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Building Technologies Program – Energy Open House

Dishwasher

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Newer dishwashers are quieter, clean better, and use less energy and water.
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Energy Facts: Most of the energy used by a dishwasher is for water heating. The yellow EnergyGuide label estimates how much power is needed each year to run the appliance and to heat the water based on the annual cost of natural gas and electric water heating.

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Scout It Out: Check the manufacturer's recommendations on water temperature, either in the manual or online. Many have internal heating elements that allow you to set the water heater in your home to a lower temperature (120°F).

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Tips: If you need to replace your dishwasher, look for the ENERGY STAR® label. ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers use 33% less water and 31% less energy than standard models.

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Tools: Use ENERGY STAR's dishwasher savings calculator to estimate the costs of using a conventional unit versus an ENERGY STAR qualified model.

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Living Well: With today's more efficient models, you don't need to rinse your dishes—just scrape and load. If dirty dishes sit overnight, use the dishwasher's rinse feature. It uses a fraction of the water needed to rinse by hand. Select the no-heat drying option and run full loads whenever possible.