14 Domestic dishwashers and washing machines (Lot 14)

Environmental Screening and Evaluation of Energy-using Products (EuP) Final Report

14.1 Background
14.2 Environmental screening based on the Ecoinvent database
14.3 Ecolabel requirements
14.4 Technology and market trends
14.5 Conclusion

14.1 Background

The background working documents on the EuP preparatory study on Domestic dishwashers and washing machines can be found on www.ecowet-domestic.org/. The project is ongoing.

As with refrigerators and freezers, dishwashers and washing machines, also known as “wet appliances”, have been among the most studied EuP in the European Union with the goal to reduce their energy consumption.

14.2 Environmental screening based on the Ecoinvent database

As there are no data in the Ecoinvent database for this theme, an environmental screening has not been performed for this product group.

14.3 Ecolabel requirements

The major European policy measures already in place are the mandatory energy labelling (Directive 97/17/EC amended by Directive 1999/9/EC) [EU 1999] and also the CECED

Unilateral Commitment [CEC 2004], which is now expired.

The CECED agreement foresaw that participating manufacturers commonly agreed to stop producing and importing in the EU dishwashers which belong to the energy efficiency class D (for >10 place settings) or E respectively (for <10 place settings) from 31 December 2003. On 31 December 2004 the dishwasher unilateral agreement expired.

The Nordic Ecolabelling criteria for washing machines and dishwashers [NE2004] focus on:

Energy consumption
Refrigerants and foaming agents: No ozone depletion potentials and a maximum for the global warming potential.
Design for recycling
Take-back and recycling
Marking of plastic parts
Flame retardants in plastic parts
Life time extension (availability of compatible replacement parts and service)

14.4 Technology and market trends

For dishwashers there was only a relatively small efficiency progress between year 2001 and 2005. In the year 2003 the average consumption per test cycle wash of a 12 place setting dishwasher was 1,197 kWh down 10% from the average consumption in 2001. The best model on the market (already for some years) has an EEI of 1,05 kWh per wash cycle. This indicates that even with the present technology there is not anymore large energy saving potential (this also means that there is no possibility to introduce an A+ class).

Figure 14.1 EU-15 Dishwasher energy efficiency index progress, in kWh/cycle (Source: CECED)

Figure 14.1 EU-15 Dishwasher energy efficiency index progress, in kWh/cycle (Source: CECED)

The sales of dishwashers by energy class follow a similar patter to the one of the washing machines, with the class A already above the 50% threshold. The lowest share of sales of A class appliances in 2005 was in Spain 69% (still up from 31 % in 2002), with the highest share 94% in Belgium. Remarkable progress in energy efficiency of new models took between 2002 and 2005 in all EU-15 countries, especially in the UK and Italy. Very impressive also is the high A class market share in some of the New Member States.

Click here to see: Figure 14.2 Sales of dishwashers: comparison between 2002 and 2005 for the 5 major EU-15 countries, by energy class (Source: GfK [GfK2004), from [Ber2007])

As far as the sales of washing machines are concerned, the share of A class appliances was already above 50% in 2002, in 2005 in some Member States (Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium) there is a large penetration of A+ appliances (not defined in the labelling Directive but agreed among CECED manufacturers), and the combination of A and A+ in these markets is approaching the 100% market. The most remarkable market change from 2002 for washing machines has happened in the UK due to the Energy Efficiency Commitment (about 800.000 washing machines have been subsidised each year under EEC). It is also interesting noting that the class B is almost disappeared from the market, but there is an increased share of not labelled appliances. Class A appliances are seen by consumers as a high quality product (most of A class appliances are AAA, associating to the low energy consumption, high spin speed and good washing performances).

For washing machines the EEI is expressed as the energy used per kg of soiled cloths in a standard 60ºC cotton cycle (kWh/kg).

In 2005 there was not any improvement in the share of sales of A and A+ washing machines in the EU-15 (only in the countries covered by GfK), while in the New Member Sates the combined share of A and A+ models continued to grow.

Figure 14.3 Sales of washing machines: comparison for 2004-2005 sales, by energy class (Source: GfK, [Sor2005], from [Ber2007])

Figure 14.3 Sales of washing machines: comparison for 2004-2005 sales, by energy class (Source: GfK, [Sor2005], from [Ber2007])

Various forms of intelligent washing machines have been demonstrated for several years. The intelligent washing machine will read intelligent labels in clothes and retrieve information about the size, colour and type of fabric as well as washing instructions. Based on the assumption that clothes are all tagged with RFID chips, washing machines will read them for appropriate wash instructions, set the temperature, wash cycles, etc.

Many manufacturers work on reducing energy consumption by enabling washing of normal clothes in water with lower temperatures. One of the features of the Samsung Silvercare washing machine is to effectively and safely wash fabrics that cannot be washed in hot water. This is made possible by applying electrolysation to dissolve nano-scale silver particles in cold water. Research has shown that an average family can save around 130 € annually by washing in cold water.

Sanyo Electric Co. is marketing a household washing machine called Aqua that can use air to wash clothes. It is the first drum-type household washing machine to use air, specifically ozone, to keep clothes clean. With "air wash," air containing ozone is sprayed on items inside the machine's drum. After about 30 minutes, any odours or bacteria on the items have been broken down. The machine also includes a system that recycles water. Water used in the final rinse cycle is stored in a tank inside the machine. Ozone is then injected into the water, cleaning it and killing any bacteria, so that the water can be used the next time a load of washing is done. The machine has a variety of other unique cycles, including the non-detergent course, which can remove light dirt without the use of detergents, and the mold-guard course, which uses the anti-bacterial powers of ozone to protect clothes against black mold. There is also the Ozone steam course, employing steam containing ozone to do a thorough job of removing dirt. The Aqua is said to require only about half the amount of water compared to ordinary washing machines.

From the design labs at Electrolux comes the KaionWAVE washing concept for laundry of the future. The washing system uses ultraviolet-C light for cleaning nano-coated fabrics, a durable and stain resistant fabric that will be used to make the clothing. The nano-coated fabrics are cleaned with the ultraviolet-C light and free radical oxygen. The ultraviolet-C light can penetrate through every article of fabric to kill bacteria and viruses, while the free radical oxygen acts as a powerful oxidizing agent that can break down dirt into carbon dioxide and water, thus sanitizing the fabric. Functioning as both a washer and a dryer, no water or chemicals are necessary.

14.5 Conclusion

14.5.1 Environmental impact in a system and life-cycle perspective

The energy consumption during use is absolutely the most important environmental impact for this product group. For washing machines, washing at lower degrees can significantly reduce the energy consumption by using enzyme based washing powder. Hence, great focus should be put on the ability of washing at low degrees or even in cold water.

However, also the consumption of detergents and water is important. As the consumer often “over dose” detergents, automatic dosing systems should be implemented.

Due to the generally relative long life-time of the products within this product group, the manufacturing of the products mean relative less.

14.5.2 Environmental perspective from new technologies

Intelligent washing machines will not only be able to save energy (washing at off-peak hours) but will also use much lower detergents and other ingredients, by matching the consumption to the content of the wash.

Water-less washing machines are in the experimental stage, but the environmental impact of the materials used for rinsing the clothes (e.g. nano-scale silver and ozone) is unknown and should be followed closely.

14.5.3 Regulation

The Nordic Ecolabelling criteria for dishwashers and washing machines will expire in October 2008. Initiatives are assumed to be underway with the aim to update and publish new criteria.