Measured impacts of high efficiency domestic clothes washers in a community

摘要

The US market for domestic clothes washers is currently dominated by conventional vertical-axis washers that typically require approximately 40 gallons of water for each wash load. The current market is growing slowly as manufacturers make machines based on tumble action, horizontal-axis designs are available and as information about the performance and benefits of such machines is developed and made available to consumers. To help build awareness of these benefits and to accelerate markets for high efficiency washers, the Department of Energy (DOE), under its ENERGY STAR(reg-sign) Program and in cooperation with a major manufacturers of high efficiency washers, conducted a field evaluation of high efficiency washers using Bern, Kansas as a test bed. Baseline washing machine performance data as well as consumer washing behavior were obtained from data collected on the existing machines of more than 100 participants in this instrumented study. Following a 2-month initial study period, all conventional machines were replaced by high efficiency, tumble-action washers, and the study continued for 3 months. Based on measured data from over 20,000 loads of laundry, the impact of the washer replacement on (1) individual customers' energy and water consumption, (2) customers' laundry habits and perceptions, and (3) the community's water supply and waste water systems were determined. The study, its findings, and how information from the experiment was used to improve national awareness of high efficiency clothes washer benefits are described in this paper.