Save electricity costs: Is it worth reducing the spin speed?

Created: 10/21/2022 2:36 p.m

By: Jasmine Farah

Due to the energy crisis, many Germans want to reduce their electricity consumption.

This is especially true for electronic devices such as the washing machine.

Doing laundry is a power and energy guzzler.

The process also requires a lot of water.

If you are also a family household with several members, it can quickly become expensive.

In the course of the energy crisis, many households now want to save money wherever possible.

And the best way to do that is to use electronic devices less.

However, if this is not an option, you have to take a closer look at the application.

Save electricity costs: Is it worth reducing the spin speed?

This starts with washing the laundry at the right temperature.

Does she really have to be set that hot every time?

Many clothes get clean at lower temperatures.

In addition, manufacturers are constantly improving their commercially available detergents.

This allows them to offer them in a concentrated form, which also makes stains disappear faster and more efficiently.

When buying a washing machine, pay attention to the standards of the latest energy labels.

© Andreas Marinski/Imago

After rinsing, it's time to spin.

For many it sounds logical at first: the higher the speed, the greater the energy consumption of the washing machine.

The drum moves quickly and has to work harder than when spinning at a low speed.

Ergo, better spin it lower, right?

More energy-sapping, however, is the laborious process of heating the water that the washing machine has to do each time it is turned on.

Depending on the model, washing machines consume just 0.04 kilowatt hours (kWh) when spinning at maximum speed.

For comparison: the total energy consumption for a 60-degree wash cycle is approximately 1.9 kilowatt hours.

So that means: The less water the washing machine needs and the cooler you wash, the cheaper you get off in the end.

Save electricity costs: Dryers eat up a lot of energy and money

If you also want to do without the dryer, since its energy consumption is also very high, you should for this reason select the highest speed for the washing machine when doing laundry.

Otherwise it is very damp and dries slowly and poorly.

If the clothes have been spun well, you can even hang them up to dry outside or in the basement.

One last tip: if you are looking to buy a new washing machine, it is best to make sure that it is energy efficient by meeting the latest energy label standards.