Washing machine 30 minutes cycle: uses more or less energy?

bitsandpieces

My washing machine has a 30 minute cycle; it normally takes a couple of hours for the 'economy cycle' at 30 degrees. I've now got some laundry that's not very dirty, but does need a quick wash - anyone know if the 30 min cycle is likely to use more or less energy than the longer cycle? No rush to get the washing finished, so may as well save money on the electric

LJM

i had a new machine come last wed and ive got an eco 30 min wash on mine it is supposed to use less

bitsandpieces

Ah - progress There's no economy quick was on mine, though - the economy wash takes a couple of hours.

jewelly

bitsandpieces wrote: »

Ah - progress There's no economy quick was on mine, though - the economy wash takes a couple of hours.

I don't see why they call it an economy wash then - economising on what? It usually refers to saving energy. Perhaps I'm thick, but it just doesn't make any sense to me.

jewelly

A 30 minute cycle has got to use less energy than a 2 hour one.

bitsandpieces

You would think 30mins used less energy, though I guess it depends on the rate of energy use over that 30 mins/2 hours (the two hour cycle does pause/turn very slowly for periods). By the way, there's also a quicker (about 90min) non-economy 30 degree cycle.

Not confusing at all, then

cbrown372

my dishwasher has an economy cycle which takes 2.5 hours, I rinse the plates before putting them in and use the 24 minute cycle has to be more economical I think.

Cardew

Don't forget that 'economy' is not just the electricity consumed, the amount of water used is also a factor.

Modern washing machines use very low amounts of electricity. Even on normal washes at 30C or 40C a consumption of 0.4kWh(approx 4p) is quite typical. So an economy wash isn't going to save a fortune.

KimYeovil

jewelly wrote: »

A 30 minute cycle has got to use less energy than a 2 hour one.

bitsandpieces wrote: »

You would think 30mins used less energy, though I guess it depends on the rate of energy use over that 30 mins/2 hours (the two hour cycle does pause/turn very slowly for periods). By the way, there's also a quicker (about 90min) non-economy 30 degree cycle.

Not confusing at all, then

cbrown372 wrote: »

my dishwasher has an economy cycle which takes 2.5 hours, I rinse the plates before putting them in and use the 24 minute cycle has to be more economical I think.

An economy 2.5 hour dish washing cycle is very likely to be less expensive than a 30 minute cycle. The economy cycle uses time instead of heat to economise - a blast of hot soapy water to soak then leave to steep before a wash then leave for ages to drip dry in their own steam instead of using lots of energy to dry the dishes in minutes.

Similar things happen when washing clothes - soak them then leave them to steep before agitating them instead of flooding them with very hot water. The spin-drying cycles should be the same, though, unlike with dishes.

dannymccann

Agreed I always use the longer cycles at lower temperatures for my washing and dishwashing. If needs be stick it on to come on at 3 in the morning and then voila when you wake up its ready for you. And before you complain about leaving it turned on all night the LED on the front of the machine will use about 0.5w so essentially nothing

JennyR68

I've tested this out today using my plug in monitor.

The AA wash at 30c took over 3 hours and used 0.66kwh

The 29 min wash at 30c used 0.33kwh

edited to add normal 30c wash took less than 2 hrs and use 0.52kwh.

Which makes me wonder what the AA wash is, always thought it was economy! Must dig the manual out.