Washing Machines

sportz

Hi all!

We're just about to move into an Adobe Mud-brick eco house, off the grid, batteries, solar, windmill .... etc ... You will see by my questions below that I know NOTHING as yet about living in an eco house .. we have spent just a few weekends there at this point .. so my questions / assumptions might be a joke! ;-)

Just wondering if anyone has advise on washing machines. Understand that we may need to run our generator at least until we get a handle on our power generation/consumption etc ... very keen to know what considerations to make when purchasing a washing machine & if anyone has specific recommendations ?

Our requirements .. - Cold washing is fine - Family of 5 so will be used a lot - 2 loads per day - Tank water - Solar/Windmill (coming soon) Batteries + generator backup

This is what I've concluded so far .. unsure of accuracy!

Top loader more efficient (shorter cycle / front loader has no real power saving for cold washing) - Apparently any models with a stepper motor will not run off batteries (not sure what a stepper motor is?) - Models with dials are better than buttons - apparently electrical board in button models don't survive power fluctuations (unsure if we will have power fluctuations ?)

Would LOVE to hear your thoughts..

Kind regards Jen

davonz

Washing machine? Top loader NO ! Top loaders shorten the life of your clothes therefore poor for sustainability. Top loaders use about twice the amount of washing powder. A serious consideration for sustainable living. Cold washing is not always the solution. It is not always hygenic and it requires more powder again and more aggressive stuff. Top loaders use far more water than front loaders. Top loaders heat the water inside which is not a big amount compared to front loaders. Top loaders are designed by stoneage designer and work accordingly. In Europe they use only front loaders. The energy efficiency requirements and environmental requirements for washing powder are 20 or 30 years ahead of New Zealand. Front loaders meet this requirements and NZ top loaders don't. Good brands for washing machines are Miele, Bosch, Asko, Siemens.... Front loader all the way!!!

Solar-Steve

+1 for a front loader. BUT, ensure you get a front loader that has a cold and a hot inlet - no point in using electricity to heat water if you use solar or a heat pump

pr0

+2 for front loader We have a Bosch front loader.

4 stars out of 6 for energy rating, 4 'A's out of 5 for water conservation. We have 3 kids, so would average out to using it daily (tend to do several washes on a Saturday). Hasn't given a single problem in almost 5 years of ownership.

Pete

Eco-Soldier

The washing machine you get must not heat the water it uses through drawing down the batteries. You need a machine that has a hot water input and does not heat its own water. :-O

Pixie-Dust38

Friends of ours use a Miele front loading washing machine with hot and cold connections but because it uses so little water the machine is full before the hot water arrives. They are off grid and don't have any problem with washing warm or even hot sometimes. Cold washing is not the ultimate solution as always promoted in this country, it requires more powder as well which is not very eco friendly

pr0

Our Bosch referred to above only has a cold inlet. Most often we use the cold wash, occasionally the 30C or 40C cycle and every once in a while on the 60C cycle (which I think is good to clean the pipes etc)

Pete

davonz

pr0 Pete

Are you able to directly measure the energy used in a wash cycle whether cold, warm or hot? The numbers of interest are Watts per load, and peak Watts. Just curious whether your machine is suitable for off-grid.

davonz

pr0

davonz Hi davonz,

No I'm not able to measure actual performance. I took the info from the energy rating sticker thats on the washer. It claims a consumption of 209kW per year if used 7 days per week on a 40C cotton wash with 1000rpm spin setting for a 6.5KG load. It also states a water usage of 62.8L for this wash.

Pete

sportz

Thanks everyone for your awesome advise! Ok, so now looking at front loaders as recommended by EVERYONE :-)

A lot of machines don't seem do the separate inlets as mentioned above. Miele top of the range do ($3200 cheapest .. ouch!) Bosch don't seem to. Asko do have a new model which seems to stack up all around ? Asko W6883 Eco

https://www.asko.co.nz/products/laundry/washing-machines

http://www.energywise.govt.nz

51.5l water per load. 190 kWH annually. Unsure what this is based upon - as in the actual Watts per load, and peak Watts as Seeker has commended on above.. ? I'll update if I manage to find that out..

Solar-Steve

Just in response to a couple of your comments about the power system itself - do please get a reputable full-sine wave inverter.... my personal recommendation would be Outback or Victron - the Victron 2kVA model uses slightly less standby power than an Outback 2kVA model. As for a wind turbine - unless you are in an especially windy spot, you are much better off spending the money on more solar panels. Plus you will save on long term maintenance and general aggravation.

nofear

Excellent posts here.

Yes certainly front load..gentle on clothes, less water, less powder, but often longer wash cycles. Still comes out on top for efficiency in cleaning and energy.

A periodic hot water wash cycle is a good idea... the number of times we "fixed" top loaders by simply running them through a hot wash cycle...

Re the wind power advice, I agree also...except that technology is changing and a modified Chinese windmachine can be a very viable option, even in low wind (3ms) areas, whereas previously not considered economically or efficient viable. I would not recommend a std Chinese unit at this point.

Langers

G'day - I've been on the same frustrating hunt for an affordable front-loader with a hot-water connection, with no luck so far. The thing I can't get a straight answer on is: what if I connect the cold-water pipe to the hot tap? Would it stuff the machine or void the warranty?

Solar-Steve

Hi D@Langers#85

We have solar hot water and use an LG inverter Direct Drive washing machine model WD11020D1, it has both hot and cold inlets, its only a couple of years old so should be still current or available 2nd hand.
Normally run it after midnight to get cheaper off peak power, a 40 degree C wash costs uses approx 1kw of power or 10cents by utilising the already hot water.

Note the hot water temp shouldnt > 60C to keep in warranty, so will have to be plumbed after the anti-scald valve, most laundries are direct connected to the HWC on the other side of the valve, so would that would exceed the temperature rating of your washing machine if the HWC got up to 80C or so from your solar water heater.

Cheers
Steve

samiam

I have just bought an LGWD1409NPW (9kg front loader) and it has both hot and cold water connections. The manual says hot temp should be limited to 65c.
I think most of the LG front loaders have both hot and cold.

LG also rated well in consumer mag test reports.

samiam

On another forum someone ran a hose from the laundry tub tap into the soap tray for hot washes.

Kex

Definitely front loader. Less water consumption, less wear and damage to clothing (less waste)
Warm wash is definitely preferable, especially underwear and such. And generally a lot of top loader detergents are less eco friendly as the stuff need to compensate for the performance shortfall compared to front loader
I do know people off the grid who use a front loader and wash warm and hot as well, the water amount heated is nowhere near as much as the ancient top loader.
Brand? For me nothing else than Miele.