The dishwasher is one of many major appliances in a home. Each time a new dishwasher will become necessary it pays to learn how to look for a new one. There’s a tad bit more to it since the Energy Star efficient program got involved. Things such as “estimated yearly electrical use” and “cost selection of similar models” needs to be considered. The Energy Star program is a federally operated program that tests appliances and rates them for energy efficiency. You are able to spot a machine that fits the efficiency standards by searching for the blue, Energy Star, sticker.
The dishwasher at my house have been making increasingly irritating sounds over the last 4 days. Then yesterday it stopped working altogether and filled the space with a burned wire smell. It have been an excellent dishwasher, I hated to see it roll over a play dead. At 5 years old, I hoped it might have had an extended life. Appears like I get to go buying a new dishwasher.
Here’s a few things I learned about dishwashers at the first store:
- All dishwashers are exactly the same size. They’re in contrast to refrigerators which come in numerous sizes.
- Stores often don’t carry the higher priced models, you’ll have to order them and wait per week or so.
- The dish rack inside is either covered by plastic or vinyl. Vinyl is the most durable and will come in the higher priced models.
- A fairly new feature is steam cleaning. Here again, only in the mid to upper price range.
The lady of the home didn’t want to face another week washing the dishes yourself so we were limited to the models that have been in-stock bosch 14 place dishwasher.Each store we went to had about 12 models to choose from, but only had 3 or 4 in stock. In a way it made the selection process a lot easier since we didn’t have so many to consider.
Now let’s take a look at the yellow EnergyGuide that’s attached to each model. The yellow tag may be the property of the government and can’t be taken from the applying before it is sold. This seems a little threatening. Personally i think like I’m investing in a nuclear warhead or something. The EnergyGuide has three main regions of information:
- Estimated Yearly Operating Cost when combined with an electric water heater.This is a sliding scale to help you compare this dishwasher with others. This unit uses about 300 kWh per year. Simply how much is 300 kWh? A 1,500 sq ft home having an electric furnace and water header uses about 21,600 kWh annually or around 60 kWh per day. This dishwasher uses $32 annually compared to others ranging from $20 to $50.
- Estimated Yearly Electrical Use. This dishwasher uses $32 annually compared to others ranging from $20 to $50. The dishwasher uses about 1 kWh per day.
- Estimated Yearly Operating Cost when combined with a natural gas water heater.Just a buck figure here, $25. This compares with the electric water heater at $32 per year.
The qualifying note at the bottom of the EnergyGuide states that estimated operating costs were based on four loads per week at a cost of 10.65 cents per kWh and a cost of $1.218 per therm.
I like buying cars better, now that’s fun. Searching for a new dishwasher was alright, but not at all something I’ll look forward to doing again anytime soon. I was surprised to understand how little electricity is employed by a dishwasher ( $32 annually ) and how little difference in efficiency there is between the less expensive models and the higher priced models. On sale and in stock, my new dishwasher costs $299, and I’ll bet it washes dishes just fine.