Why are my electric bills so high, even with ‘green’ appliances?
Q: I recently moved into a new house and installed a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer that have “green” settings. But I have noticed that my electric usage is twice what it was in my old house, even though it’s the same company and the same geographical area. In trying to chase down what is using so much electricity, I started thinking about the longer green settings on these appliances. On the clothes washer (Asko brand), the green cycle is more than two hours. I assume it uses less water. Water is not an issue for me, so am I using more electricity by running a longer cycle?
- A reader in Bar Harbor, Maine
A: A “green” setting, which goes by different names depending on the manufacturer, is designed to save both energy and water. In both clothes washers and dishwashers, this setting lowers the water temperature but extends the wash cycle enough so that laundry or dishes should get just as clean. Heating the water typically accounts for most of the appliance’s energy use - 90 percent in the case of a clothes washer, according to the federal Energy Star program - so the lower temperature results in energy savings even though the machine runs for a longer time.
Manufacturers typically also provide a setting that gets the job done more quickly, but at a price. As Asko notes on its website: “When selecting Speed mode you task the washing machine with delivering perfect washing and rinsing results in less time than normal. To achieve this, both more water and more energy are added to the washing cycle.”
When you’re trying to figure out where to focus on reducing electricity use, it’s helpful to know what researchers have concluded about what goes on in a typical household. The U.S. Energy Information Administration does a randomized survey every few years to track energy use in different ways - by type of energy, household size, geographic region and even whether residents or landlords pay the bills. If you love delving into data, the EIA’s website focused on the Residential Energy Consumption Survey can keep you occupied for hours. You can even compare electricity use for main refrigerators and main televisions vs. second or third ones in a home.
Here are some key points to know about where - and how - your home uses energy:
- More than half of the average household’s annual energy consumption comes from heating and cooling, according to the 2020 survey, the latest available. Even though many families heat with gas, oil or wood, the averages still worked out to having 17 percent of electricity going for heating and heating-related air handling and 13 percent for air conditioning and its air handling. So if your heat or air conditioning runs on electricity and you’re looking at why your bills are so high, start there. Is your new house as well-insulated or sealed against drafts as your former home? Are your heating and air conditioning systems tuned up?
- Also take a hard look at the water heater, which is responsible for 12 percent of the average household’s electrical use. That figure would be even higher except for the fact that many families use gas rather than electricity to heat water. The layout of a home, the length of pipe runs and whether pipes are insulated all make a big difference in the energy needed to heat water to a comfortable temperature for showering, and they could help explain why bills at your new home are higher. Lowering the setting at the water heater might save a significant amount on your bill, but you will need to experiment to find a setting that works. Do a web search for “lower water heating temperature” to find the U.S. Department of Energy’s step-by-step guide.
- By comparison, dishwashers account for just 0.5 percent of the electricity use in an average home, and clothes washers, for just 0.3 percent. So while it does make sense to use a “green” setting, the overall effect on your bill isn’t likely to be all that noticeable.
- Clothes dryers, however, are a bigger target - responsible for 3 percent of the average home’s electricity use, even though some dryers are gas-fired. To save energy, with either type of dryer, try using a setting that leaves clothes slightly damp. Hang them loosely (not in a closed, packed closet) to dry the rest of the way. Or reduce your use of electricity for drying clothes to zero by drying clothes as people used to do: on a line or on a rack.
- All clothes dryers that have the Energy Star label now have true humidity sensors, rather than settings that imply moisture levels but really just run on time. While most new dryers basically still use the same technology that’s been standard for decades, the humidity sensor can be a good way to save energy and help keep your clothes in good condition.
- For even more energy savings, consider buying a heat pump dryer, which pulls moisture from the air in what would usually be the dryer’s exhaust and sends that heated air back into the dryer to extract more moisture from your clothes. The Energy Star program says these dryers can save at least 28 percent of the energy used by conventional dryers. They used to cost more, but now it depends on which models you compare. At Home Depot, a 7.8-cubic-foot LG heat pump dryer is $1,298, while a Koolmore 8-cubic-foot standard vented electric dryer is $1,446.
- Heat pump water heaters are also available, when it comes time to replace what you have now.
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