Horizontal-Axis Washers Keep You Vertical When Utility Bill Arrives - 2/3/2004 - House Energy Efficiency

Horizontal-Axis Washers Keep You Vertical When Utility Bill Arrives
by Broderick Perkins

Regulations are poised to change behavior when it comes to washing clothes and that will mean using machines with more expensive technology.

The new machines do, however, save more water, use less detergent, get clothes cleaner and eventually provide a payback in water, energy and detergent savings.

California could be the first state in the nation to mandate high efficiency rules for residential washing machines that go beyond Energy Star requirements. The stiffer rules could save the state an estimated 80 billion gallons of water a year by 2019 -- enough to supply the city of San Diego for a year.

The water-shortage plagued state's Energy Commission recently approved new efficiency rules for residential clothes washers, but the U.S. Department of Energy must sanction the new rules.

Federal action could be more than a year away, but you needn't wait for rules to change your behavior.

California's regulations would mandate the level of water and energy savings already available from "horizontal-axis" clothes washers, which most often are front loaders, rather than top loaders.

Maytag's Neptune, Frigidaire's Tumble Action and Whirlpool's Duet and other models save 40 percent or more water than vertical-axis models through a combination of design and load sensors, but the new technology can double the cost of some conventional top-loading "vertical-axis" washers.

Vertical-axis washing machines need to use more water to fully immerse clothes in the tub and scrub them clean with agitation. Horizontal-axis machines use a clothes dryer-like tumbling action to clean clothes -- clothes in a rotating tub are lifted and plunged through less water and detergent.

Washing clothes accounts for 20 percent of a household's annual water use, but a water savings also means an energy savings. About 80 percent to 85 percent of the energy used for washing clothes is heating the water, say conservation and energy experts.

In the nation's first large scale test of horizontal-axis washers, back in 1998, 1,200 horizontal-axis washers were installed in soldiers' barracks at Fort Hood, TX where military uniforms get really down and dirty.

The machines used 38 percent of the water and 32 percent of the energy needed by conventional washers. Fort Hood saved $1.4 million, including $795,000 for water and energy costs saved.

Large savings also came from using 78 percent less detergent -- which also meant fewer chemicals introduced into the environment -- and from a higher spin rate. Clothes going into dryers were not as wet, placing less energy demands on the dryer.

The soldiers also enjoyed cleaner clothes, a finding also revealed in earlier tests by Palo Alto, CA's Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

The non-profit energy research consortium said the horizontal-axis machines used 40 percent less energy and 25 percent less water and "had greater soil removal effectiveness..."

Last year, Consumer Reports found even greater savings -- 50 percent water and 65 percent less energy in the most expensive models.

For small homes, because horizontal-axis washers are most often front-loaded, full-sized washers and dryers can be stacked in a smaller space than side-by-side appliances.

If you are stuck with a conventional washer, there are two ways to reduce the amount of energy used washing clothes -- use less water and use cooler water.