My washer and dryer energy usage measurements

strider3700 · 10-19-10, 02:53 PM

I decided today to start tracking the energy usage of my washer and dryer since I do a lot of laundry due to a family of 4 with 2 kids under 3.

The first thing I did was slap together a spreadsheet to record

Code:

Date, Cold wash, hot wash, dryer, clothesline, partial dry

Then I calculate kwh used, kwh saved, $ spent, $ saved on each line

the initial part is just the number of each type of loads done each day.

The calculations are simple.
I've previously estimated the dryer to use 2.257 kwh per load based on it's energuide rating.

I'm currently measuring the cold water wash usage with my wattmeter.

I'll need to do an estimate for the hotwater usage since I'm not able to directly measure the energy used to heat the water.

a parital/tumble dryer load is 1/3 of a complete load for my purposes.

kwh saved is dryer loads put to the clothes line or 2/3 in the case of partial/tumble dryed loads.

Nothing shocking or difficult I know but the first thing I noticed when setting up the watt meter is my one year old GE front load washer uses 4 watt when turned off which in my mind is stupid since it's not maintaining a program setting or a clock or doing anything. when it's turned on but idle it uses the same amount. So much for my running over to hit power when the load is done to save that little bit.

I'll update with values when the watt meter finishes collecting. <edit> Averaging .15 kwh for a cold water wash after a few loads ranging consisting of clothes, towels and bedding

I found that the average load take 13.73 gallons of water so to heat it from my base temp to 110 takes 2.4 kwh which I've now added to my hot water loads energy costs.

</edit>

10-19-10, 02:53 PM	#1
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	My washer and dryer energy usage measurements I decided today to start tracking the energy usage of my washer and dryer since I do a lot of laundry due to a family of 4 with 2 kids under 3. The first thing I did was slap together a spreadsheet to record Code: Date, Cold wash, hot wash, dryer, clothesline, partial dry Then I calculate kwh used, kwh saved, $ spent, $ saved on each line the initial part is just the number of each type of loads done each day. The calculations are simple. I've previously estimated the dryer to use 2.257 kwh per load based on it's energuide rating. I'm currently measuring the cold water wash usage with my wattmeter. I'll need to do an estimate for the hotwater usage since I'm not able to directly measure the energy used to heat the water. a parital/tumble dryer load is 1/3 of a complete load for my purposes. kwh saved is dryer loads put to the clothes line or 2/3 in the case of partial/tumble dryed loads. Nothing shocking or difficult I know but the first thing I noticed when setting up the watt meter is my one year old GE front load washer uses 4 watt when turned off which in my mind is stupid since it's not maintaining a program setting or a clock or doing anything. when it's turned on but idle it uses the same amount. So much for my running over to hit power when the load is done to save that little bit. I'll update with values when the watt meter finishes collecting. <edit> Averaging .15 kwh for a cold water wash after a few loads ranging consisting of clothes, towels and bedding I found that the average load take 13.73 gallons of water so to heat it from my base temp to 110 takes 2.4 kwh which I've now added to my hot water loads energy costs. </edit> Last edited by strider3700; 11-22-10 at 12:47 PM..