November 22, 2021, 10:59 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Dishwasher or handwashing: Both options have their pros and cons. Dishwashers, for example, are much more convenient. However, you don’t have to wait for a full sink to make handwashing worthwhile. Beyond these points, the question arises: Which method of washing is more sustainable?
A dishwasher is practical. Thanks to it, you don’t have to wash all the dirty dishes by hand. No dishwater and no dry hands. But is a dishwasher also more sustainable than manual washing? After all, it must be fully loaded, uses chemical cleaning agents, and impacts the electricity and water bill.
Dishwasher Saves Operating Costs
A fully loaded dishwasher conserves water and energy resources. This is explained by the National Top Runner Initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The initiative aims to promote the market penetration of energy-efficient appliances. The appliances consume on average 50 percent less water and about 30 percent less energy, the initiative explains. This could save around 40 euros in operating costs per year.
A study by the University of Bonn from 2004 and 2011 comes to similar conclusions. It states that modern dishwashers not only deliver better cleaning results but also use less water and time than handwashing. However, the Öko-Institut in Freiburg criticizes that the study did not include gray energy. Gray energy refers to the energy consumed in manufacturing and transportation. For dishwashers, this amounts to about 1,000 kilowatt-hours. With this energy, you could wash 1,000 loads of dishes in the dishwasher.
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What Energy Is Used?
Where the energy comes from is also crucial in determining how sustainable a dishwasher or handwashing is. Dishwashers are powered by electricity. Hot water for handwashing is generated by electricity or gas. The latter is the more environmentally friendly method, as it releases less CO2, for example. Additionally, when generating electricity, losses occur during conversion and transmission, making electrical energy more environmentally burdensome.
The Key Is How You Use the Dishwasher
The operating costs of a dishwasher can be kept low overall if you clean the dishes using eco-programs. These settings typically use relatively low water temperatures of 40 degrees, explains the Forum Waschen. The downside, however, is that the wash cycle can take up to four hours, depending on the machine.
Sources:
Geo
University of Bonn
Forum Waschen
Top Runner Initiative