Power Economics

Appendix ATips for Saving Energy at Home

Here are sixteen excellent tips for saving energy when you're doing laundry, written by Allison Casey of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory¹ and quoted verbatim from the DOE website:²

1. Wash with cold water. Using warm water instead of hot can cut a load's energy use in half, and using cold water will save even more. Cold water detergents can be helpful to ensure items get clean, and high-efficiency detergents (indicated by the “he” symbol) should be used when required by the manufacturer.
2. Wash full loads. Your washer will use about the same amount of energy no matter the size of the load, so fill it up.
3. Dry right-sized loads for your machine. If the dryer is too full, it will take longer for the clothes to dry. Loads that are too small can also take longer to dry, plus you spend more per item when running the dryer to only dry a few things.
4. Air dry when you can. Hang laundry outside or on a drying rack to avoid using the dryer altogether.
5. Switch loads while the dryer is warm. This will allow you to use the remaining heat inside of the dryer for the next cycle.
6. Use dryer balls. Wool or rubber dryer balls will help separate your clothes and get more air to them, cutting drying time. They can also reduce static so you don't need dryer sheets (see #7 below). The wool balls are said to absorb some moisture, further cutting drying time. We use these at my house and have seen a noticeable difference in the time it takes our clothes to ...