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Dishwasher Water Usage

15 years ago

Can anyone tell me how to find out how much water each of the better dishwashers use? We are remodeling a house where we are on a well and water is SCARCE! So it's the biggest factor in my decision. I'm interested in the Miele Optima but a salesperson told me the dish drawers are best on water usage. I'd love to find a site where this info is available. It seems to be an industry secret. Thanks for any advice.

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Comments (4)

dadoes
15 years ago
Many upper-end dishwashers nowadays have a Smart-Wash feature that varies the amount of water used based on the detected soil level of the load ... so the water use is often stated as a range of between X and Y gallons.

Check the manufacturer web site for each model you are considering. If the info you want isn't there, call or e-mail their customer service.

I can tell you that F&P DishDrawers of the 603 series used 0.8 gals per fill (per drawer), with cycles ranging from three (Fast Eco, 2.4 gals) to seven (Heavy, 5.6 gals) water changes. The newest 605 series, I don't know if they are the same or perhaps a little less due to efficiency increases.
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wa8b
15 years ago
According to the Miele Optima owner's manual (see page 30 at the link below), The Optima dishwasher uses between 1.3 and 6.3 gallons per load, depending upon which cycle is chosen. I'm guessing that the low end of the range is for a Rinse & Hold cycle, and the upper end of the range would be for a Normal or Pots & Pans cycle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele Optima Owner's Manual
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Of course it's really hard to say. The variables are: 1. the inlet temp of the water 2. the amount of hot water used 3. the efficiency of the heater. So let's make some assumptions: 1. inlet temp of water is 60 F 2. Water used = (shower 10 minutes, 2.5 gpm, 105 outlet temp) + Misc (laundry, hand washing, kitchen 25 gal 105 outlet temp) so total of 50 gal of water increased from 60F to 105F 3. let's assume 92% so 50 gal water = 417.27 pounds x a temp rise of 45F = 18,777 / 0.92 = 20,4410 BTU a day or 612300 a month. (A BTU = energy needed to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree F) 1 gal of propane = 91333 BTU so she would go through about 6.7 gal a month. At $2.50 a gal it's about $200 a year. Propane is generally about as expensive as electric resistance (the most expensive form of heating). It can also vary widely in cost. Consider a hybrid electric water heater. The installed costs can be less than a gas tankless and it generally is the least expensive way to heat water (costs slightly less than natural gas tankless to run). A hybrid electric needs space around it (such as a basement, garage or similar area). They will cool and dehumidify that area which is often just fine for a basement.
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bluekitobsessed
15 years ago
I'm attaching a link to Consumer Report's greenerchoices.org website, which lists gallons per load for DWs. However, if exact gallons are a big concern I recommend cross-referencing with mfr recommendations as Dadoes suggested. My Thermador, which I chose in large part based on its energy efficiency, is shown on the list to use 7 gallons but the manual claims between 3.6 and 6.8 gallons for normal cycle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dishwasher ratings with water usage
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tinab_grammy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you for your help. The consumer reports site was just what I needed. I guess any way I go, I'll save more water than doing the dishes by hand.
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