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points by jebarker 17 hours ago | 0 comments

You don’t have to make excuses, modern dishwashers are really water and power efficient.

A European model uses about 1 kWh for washing 12 place-settings (big plate, small plate, bowl, saucer, glass, mug).

US models approx 2-3 kWh because energy efficiency laws are nowhere near as strict, and they use hot fill of usually electrically heated water.

[–] anthomtb 8 hours ago

I’m in the US with a Bosch dishwasher installed in 2024. It’s 1-1.5kw depending on the cycle.

Also, since when are electric water heaters common in the USA? Every home I’ve ever lived in here has used gas for heating water.

[–] londons_explore 8 hours ago

> It’s 1-1.5kw depending on the cycle.

But if it's hooked up to hot water, add in the 4 gallons of water it used and the 1.5 kWh to heat that.

[–] jebarker 7 hours ago

Is the suggestion that this is not efficient though? What’s the point of comparison?

[–] pandemicsyn 14 hours ago

> US models approx 2-3 kWh because energy efficiency laws are nowhere near as strict, and they use hot fill of usually electrically heated water.

Citation needed on this entire comment? Because cruising youtube and energystar.gov this energy use doesn't track. Like my bosch series seems basically the same as the EU one.

Heres a random pos frigidaire

Frigidaire: https://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/product/certified-r...

>they use hot fill of usually electrically heated water.

The US is a big freaking place. In my part of texas most houses have a nat gas access and most folks use gas water heaters because our water is incredibly hard.

But also: https://atlasbuildingshub.com/2025/07/16/visualizing-what-am...

"In the United States, 46 percent of households use electricity to heat their water."