Boston Washer Study

Technical Report · Tue Aug 06 04:00:00 EDT 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/814222· OSTI ID:814222

Tomlinson, J J ^[1]

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1. ORNL

To help understand the relative performance gains of conventional and high-efficiency washers and to increase awareness of energy/water savings, the U.S. Department of Energy under its Emerging Technologies Program and in cooperation with Maytag Appliances conducted a field-evaluation of horizontal axis washers in a Boston, Massachusetts condo complex. Baseline washer and dryer performance and customer habits were established using 50 participants and their existing, instrumented washers and dryers for a 2 1/2-month period. After the baseline was established, the machines were replaced with high efficiency tumble action washers and moisture sensing dryers, and tested for the next 2 1/2 months. By information gathered, energy and water savings delivered by the h-axis washers as well as impacts on participants' washing habits and perceptions of cleaning performance were determined. Overall, participants saved 41% of the water and 50% of the energy that they would have used without a changeover to the new h-axis washer. The changeover also produced significant dryer energy savings due primarily to the high-speed final spin of the new washer. The Boston Washer Study report details the experiment including instrumentation, data collection and analysis procedures and discusses the impacts on energy, water and detergent consumption as well as customer satisfaction with the technology.

• Research Organization: ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 814222
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-2001/214
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
APPLIANCES
CLEANING
DETERGENTS
EFFICIENCY
MASSACHUSETTS
MOISTURE
PERFORMANCE
SPIN
WASHING
WATER