In the house of a modern person there are various electrical household appliances: refrigerator, hair dryer, iron, washing machine, consuming a huge amount of electricity. We have special requirements for washing machines. They have to wash our clothes perfectly, look nice to decorate the bathroom, and most importantly, consume a minimum amount of electricity.
The information on electric power consumption is given by the producers in the passport of the equipment and on the sticker on the back wall of the washing machine.
Energy class - what is it and which one is better?
Energy efficiency class - what does it mean? Let's start with the definition of energy efficiency - it is a measure of economic consumption of electrical energy. But the washing machine can not be completely energy efficient, because it is designed with a powerful motor. Classes of washing machines are marked with the letters of the English alphabet from A to G. The method of class definition was defined in 1995.
The European Community adopted directive 92/75/EEC, according to which European appliance producers should equip their products with a sticker indicating the power class of the machine (from A to G), printed on a colored ruler. Under laboratory conditions, a small soiled piece of fabric is placed in the machine and washed for 1 hour at a temperature of 60 degrees.
The results are compared to a reference. A-class washing machine should wash dirt better than the benchmark, B-class - not worse than the benchmark. Nowadays, almost all washing appliances are manufactured in A-class. Energy class A is divided into "+", "++" and "+++". The more pluses, the better is the washing quality, and less energy is spent.
Machines marked "A" are marked in bright green. The washing machine "A+++" requires less than 0.13 kWh, "A++" is enough 0.15 kWh for 1 kg of laundry, class "A+" 0.17 kWh, class "A" - from 0.17 to 0.19 kWh. Class "B" machines can be identified by the pale green color on the scale. Class C and D are colored in shades of yellow, E, F, G are marked in red.
The total energy consumption is affected by the values of the four current collectors:
- - The drum (activator) drive motor, whose power is measured in watts (180 to 800 watts);
- - Heating element - its power is much higher than that of the motor and ranges from 180 to 80 watts. The heating element works only when heating water;
- - drain pump - low-power unit (24-40 W);
- - sensors, control unit, relays, light indicators (in total 5-10 W).
The maximum power of the washing machine reaches 4 kW.
It should be noted that the power consumption is influenced by many factors:
- - the service life of the washing machine. The older the machine, the more it has lime deposits on the heating element. In this case, the time of heating water increases, increasing energy consumption;
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- load size - the amount of electricity consumption is calculated per 1 kg of laundry. The more laundry we put in the drum, the more energy your washing machine will consume;
- - the selected washing program - it refers primarily to the set washing temperature. The hotter the water, the more electricity will be needed to heat it.
Technologies that make the washing machine more economical. Some manufacturers develop their own technologies to help consumers save money. And some buy the technology from the developers and apply it to their products.
These are the innovations that have made modern washing machines much more economical:
- - Inverter motor - thanks to innovative technology, the consumption of electrical energy decreased several times. The washing machine of the brand LG is considered the most economical;
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- Intelligent system - different manufacturers call it differently, but the principle of operation is the same. The ability to dose water depending on the amount of laundry loaded makes the machine more economical. After all, the less water in the washer, the less electricity is needed to heat it.
- - EcoBubble - the developer of this technology is Samsung Corporation, thanks to which the machines of this brand have become more energy efficient. When the powder and water are mixed, air is added. Due to this the amount of foam increases, easily penetrating into the fabric, washing dirt better. Thanks to this development it is possible to wash effectively at low temperatures.
I recently saw a kind of new product from hotpoint, it's A+++, so it's also a nice price, not more expensive than 25 thousand rubles.