It’s Earth Day, so let’s talk about the water and energy efficiency, shall we? In particular, I want to discuss my new GE dishwasher and share tips everyone can use to save energy, which saves money.

Quiz!

How much water does my new dishwasher use per cycle?

a). 22 gallons

b) 4 gallons

c)  15 gallons

d) 11 gallons

Answer: See below.

How much water does the GE hybrid stainless interior dishwasher use?

This dishwasher uses on average 3.8 gallons of water on a Normal wash setting. (I was surprised by how little water this machine uses. Did you know, if you had a dinner party and afterwards did the dishes by hand you could use upwards of 20 gallons of water?)

About how much energy does it use?

This dishwasher uses 275 KWH per year. Um, this doesn’t really mean much to me unless I put some cost numbers with it. (Next question, please.)

How much does it cost to run this dishwasher?

If youe an electric water heater, GE estimates the cost to operate this dishwasher at $29 per year if you have an electric water heater, and $24 per year if you have a natural gas water heater. For more information, visit: www.ftc.gov/appliances.

Tips from for conserving water and energy with your dishwasher:

Make Sure The Water is Hot

Did you know the water temperature of your dishwasher is REALLY important its effectiveness? 

You are supposed to run the water in your sink faucet to let it get hot before you start your dishwasher. Newly engineered dishwashers, like my GE one, are so efficient that they use only about 4 gallons of water per cycle. You will get better wash performance with hot water. Additionally, according to our technician, you use less energy when you start the dishwasher when the water is already warm because your cleaning cycle will take less time. Who knew?!?!

The Time of Day Matters

Did you know you can save money by running your dishwasher during a certain time of day?

Energy costs more during peak hours of operation, so using the delay setting on your dishwasher is one simple way to save energy (and money!).

Do you try to run your appliances when it’s off-peak time or do you just take care of it in the moment so you can be done with it?

Happy Earth Day, Friends.

This is a sponsored blog post. Many thanks to our friends at GE, who provided me with this dishwasher model GDT550HGDBB to try out. All thoughts are my own.