FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Internet: http://www.eren.doe.gov/femp

Technology

Installation

Review

A case study on

energy-efficient

technologies

Prepared by the

New Technology

Demonstration

Program

No portion of this publication may be altered

in any form without prior

written consent from the

U.S. Department of Energy

and the authoring national

laboratory.

are no coin boxes or other revenuecollecting devices associated with the

washers in most Federal applications.

This study serves to document the water

and energy consumption of conventional

(baseline) clothes washers, as well as the water

and energy consumption of high-performance

clothes washers of four different manufacturers

(Alliance Laundry Systems, Maytag Corporation, Staber Industries, Inc., and Whirlpool

Corporation). The resulting life-cycle costs

and net present value of the high-performance

clothes washers compared to conventional

clothes washers are also discussed.

Technology Description

The high-performance commercial clothes

washers that are the focus of this Technology

Installation Review look very similar to a

residential-style clothes washer in terms of

size (e.g., physical dimensions), features (i.e.,

water supply, wastewater discharge and electrical connections), and mounting/installation

(e.g., “soft-mount” set up using standard adjustable legs). For most soft-mount commercial

clothes washers, the most significant differences compared to a residential clothes washer

are a sturdier frame and mechanical components, a modified control panel with fewer

choices of control settings, and a shorter

cycle time.

The common industry term used for the

commercial clothes washers described

in this study is “on-premise laundry”

(OPL). The OPL-type of clothes washers

are similar in durability and construction to full commercial-type clothes

washers; however, they do not have

coin boxes or debit card readers or

Assessment of High-Performance, Family-Sized Commercial

Clothes Washers

High-performance, family-sized commercial clothes washers evaluated for

their energy, water, and cost savings

The purpose of this Technology Installation Review

is to provide an overview of high-performance,

family-sized commercial clothes washers. It

presents the results of a field demonstration

of several brands of high-performance clothes

washers performed by the Pacific Northwest

National Laboratory for the U.S. Army Forces

Command. The new high-performance clothes

washer technology is described, and a demonstration of high-performance clothes washers

used in barracks buildings at Fort Hood, Texas,

is presented. The potential for cost-effective

applications of this technology in the Federal

sector is also discussed.

To date, there have been no comprehensive fieldbased studies of the new high-performance,

commercial-style clothes washers in the Federal

sector, and few publicly available studies have

been undertaken in the private sector. The

Federal sector, particularly the Department of

Defense, is unique because the use of clothes

washers is generally free of charge; thus there

Fort Hood clothes washer metering equipment and connections.

DOE/EE-0218
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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H-axis, are maintained in a similar

manner as new standard commercial clothes washers. In the highperformance machines, the controls

are a combination of standard electronic and electro-mechanical, with

a few added features for controlling

door/lid locks and the spin cycle on

H-Axis machines. The wash settings/

cycles are those commonly found on

coin-operated commercial machines.

For H-axis machines, the motors

and gearing are designed to spin the

drum in both directions and are also

designed to spin the drum at a very

high speed (greater than 700 rpm)

in order to remove moisture from the

clothes to a lower remaining moisture content(c) than in most standard

V-axis machines. As such, the motor/

gearing, drum support, and balancing mechanisms are novel compared

to standard V-Axis machines and

are very sturdy but generally do not

require additional maintenance.

For safety purposes, the door or

lid is locked on H-axis machines at

the start of a cycle and can only be

opened after the machine is fully

stopped. It may take time for firsttime users to become accustomed

to this feature. The water level, however, is never above the bottom of

the door on front-opening machines;

thus there is no chance of a significant

water spill if the door is inadvertently

opened before the drum has stopped

turning. Like most commercial-style

machines, wash chemicals (soap,

bleach, fabric softener) are added

prior to starting a cycle and are dispensed automatically at the correct

times during the cycle. Chemicals

their coin boxes/card readers are

rendered inoperable (i.e., the use of

the washers is free).

In the private sector, these clothes

washers are generally only available

to be purchased “commercially” and

thus are sold outside the normal retail

sales channels. This is an important

distinction since commercial clothes

washers are not subject to Federal

appliance efficiency testing standards

and as such are not sold with a Federal

Trade Commission EnergyGuide

label indicating their efficiency and

comparing their efficiency to similar

models. However, some manufacturers of high-performance commercial

clothes washers have agreed to voluntarily provide performance testing

information as part of their participation in the Consortium for Energy

Efficiency (CEE) High-Efficiency

Commercial, Family-Sized Clothes

Washer Initiative©. Participation in

this CEE Initiative is voluntary, and

this is the only program that establishes minimum performance criteria for commercial clothes washers.

Three of the four manufacturers represented in the case study are a part

of the CEE initiative.(a)

Principles of Operation

High-performance, family-sized

commercial clothes washers have

been available since early 1997. They

achieve energy and water savings by

reducing the amount of water used

per wash cycle. The majority of energy

savings are achieved in most highperformance washers by reducing

the hot water used while a smaller

but significant portion of the energy

savings are achieved through the use

higher-efficiency motors. Most manufacturers accomplish water savings by

changing their washer design from a

vertical axis (V-axis), agitator-type

design, to a horizontal-axis (H-axis)

design. One manufacturer, however,

has achieved significant water savings

with a V-axis design through the use

of spray rinses.

With the H-axis design, the washer

drum rotates around a horizontal,

rather than vertical, axis. The benefit

of the H-axis washer design is that

the drum only partially fills with

water during the wash and rinse

cycles; as the drum turns about

its horizontal axis, the clothes are

tumbled into and out of the water.

In contrast, a standard V-axis clothes

washer requires the clothes to be

fully immersed in water and moving

about a central agitator for proper

washing and rinsing. As reported

by the U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE), for residential clothes washers in a residential household, the

water and energy savings from an

H-axis clothes washer can be as great

as 50% over a standard V-axis clothes

washer.(b)

H-axis design washers can be either

top-loading (like a standard V-axis

machine) or loading through a frontopening door. The net drum volume

for commercial H-axis washers ranges

from 1.9 to 2.9 ft3

; the net drum volume for commercial V-axis washers

ranges from 2.5 to 3.0 ft3

.

Maintenance, Service,

and Operation

High-performance commercial

clothes washers, either V-axis or

(a) The CEE specifies a minimum performance level to qualify for their program and voluntary reporting of the performance level by the manufacturers. See http://www.ceeformt.org for more information.

(b) Tomlinson, J.J., and D.T. Ritzy. Bern Clothes Washer Study Final Report. ORNL/M-6382. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.

March 1998.

(c) Remaining moisture content is the weight of water in a “spun” load of clothes as a percentage of the dry weight of the load.
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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are added either through a dispenser

on the top of the machine or in a

drawer at the front of the machine.

Some manufacturers of highperformance clothes washers,

primarily those that use H-axis

technology, claim savings from

reduced use of chemicals, principally soap. H-axis manufacturers

state that conventional laundry

detergents are designed to work in

V-axis clothes washers that have a

completely different wash system

than H-axis clothes washers. Because

H-axis washers have no agitator, the

drum baffles help move the clothing through the water, which results

in entraining air into the detergent

solution. This action creates a greater

amount of suds than in a conventional

V-axis machine. Thus the combination of less water and the tumbling

action requires less soap (either liquid

or powder) to obtain the cleaning

action. No independent publicly

available data is currently obtainable

to substantiate or quantify cost savings due to reduced soap usage.

Manufacturers of H-axis technology

also recommend using soap specifically designed for H-axis (or highperformance) machines to assure the

correct and sufficient concentration

of cleaning chemicals and at the same

time reduce the potential for excess

sudsing. Most H-axis machines have

a suds control feature that detects

when suds are excessive and alters

the cycle during washing to dilute

the suds to an acceptable level.

The available capacity (e.g., net drum

volume) of high-performance commercial clothes washers is equivalent

to the available capacity of standard

commercial clothes washers. The

volumes range from 1.9 to 3 ft3

 for

the high-performance machines

compared to volumes of 2.5 to 3 ft3

for conventional commercial-style

clothes washers.

Measures of Efficiency

A measure of clothes washer energy

efficiency is the annual energy consumption (kWh/year), which assumes

a given number of clothes washing

cycles during that period. For residential clothes washers, the calculation is based on 392 cycles per year.

As noted, the Federal Trade Commission provides this information on

each residential clothes washer in the

yellow and black EnergyGuide label

attached to every machine sold. In

addition, the Federal government

sets a minimum standard and a standard testing procedure for residential clothes washer performance in

terms of the washer energy factor,

noted in units of tub volume ft3

/

kWh/cycle (although this value is

not reported on the EnergyGuide).(a)

Energy factor is the normalized (to

net tub volume) measure of energy

consumption (mechanical/motor

and water heating) per standard

wash cycle; it is important to note

that the higher the energy factor the

more efficient the clothes washer.

The current minimum energy factor

for residential washers is 1.18 ft3

/

kWh/cycle. The Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA)/DOE

Energy Star® Program has established a minimum energy factor of

2.5 ft3

/kWh/cycle for all residential

clothes washers to qualify as an

Energy Star clothes washer. Thus

for this study, a commercial OPL

clothes washer was considered

“high-performance” if it meets this

minimum energy factor (as indicated

by the manufacturer and/or by CEE),

even though commercial clothes washers

are not required by Federal law to be tested

and labeled. The term “conventional”

clothes washer is the term used in this

study if the clothes washer does not

meet this minimum energy factor.

Other measures of clothes washer

efficiency are the water factor, which

is a normalized (to net tub volume)

measure of water consumption per

cycle measured in gallons/ft3

/cycle,

and remaining moisture content.

Here it is important to note that the

lower the water factor and remaining

moisture content, the higher the efficiency. Neither metric is required

by the Federal government to be

reported as part of the testing and

certification process for residential

clothes washers, but is voluntarily

reported by the manufacturers as

part of the CEE Commercial, FamilySized Clothes Washer Initiative©.

High-Performance Clothes Washer

Energy and Water Savings

Based on the results of the Fort Hood

study (see Fort Hood Demonstration

below), the baseline, conventional

V-axis, large-capacity clothes washer

used 35.4 gallons of water/cycle, of

which 9.0 gallons was hot water and

26.4 gallons was cold water. The

average water use of the four highperformance clothes washers was

18.8 gallons, of which 3.4 gallons was

hot water and 15.4 gallons was cold

water. Thus the high-performance

machines saved an average of 5.6

gallons of hot water and 11.0 gallons

of cold water, for a total of 16.6 gallons

of water compared to the baseline

conventional V-axis washers. The

(a) “Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Automatic and Semi-Automatic Clothes Washers,” Code of Federal

Regulations, Title 10, Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix J.
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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water use reduction for the highperformance machines averaged

42% of cold water, 62% of hot water,

and 47% of total water.

The baseline conventional clothes

washer used an average of 0.26 kWh/

cycle for the motor and controls (i.e.,

“machine-energy”). The average of

the four high-performance clothes

washers used 0.20 kWh/cycle for

motor and controls, a savings of 0.06

kWh/cycle, or 23% of baseline use.

The baseline clothes washer used an

average of 5,610 Btu/cycle of hot

water energy while the average

of the four manufacturers’ highperformance clothes washers used

2,120 Btu/cycle of hot water energy.

This data results in a savings (at the

clothes washer) of 3,490 Btu/cycle,

or 62% of hot water energy use for

each wash cycle; note that these savings do not include conversion inefficiencies in generating the hot water.

The average wash cycles of the four

high-performance brands at Fort

Hood over the time period of the

study were 6.4 cycles/day/machine.

Based on this daily number of cycles

for an entire year (365 days), the water

savings over the baseline machines

was 38,780 gallons/year/machine,

the machine-energy savings was

140 kWh/year/machine, and the

hot water energy savings (at the

machine) was 8.1 million Btu/year/

machine. Based on the Fort Hood

hot water delivery system and utility

rates,(a) the total water cost savings

was $39/year/machine, the total

hot water energy cost savings was

$43/year/machine, and the machine

electrical energy cost was $4/year/

machine, resulting in a total average

cost savings of $86/year/machine for the

high-performance brands compared

to the average for the conventional

baseline clothes washers. The potential savings for the entire Federal sector is given below.

Cost-effectiveness

The cost-effectiveness of these clothes

washers varies with energy cost, the

combined water/wastewater cost,

and washer use. Assuming the usage

and performance results from Fort

Hood, the average Federal utility rates

(electricity at 6.0 cents/kWh, natural

gas at 40 cents/therm, and water/

wastewater at $3.00/1,000 gallons),

the 1999 Federal discount rate of 3.1%,

and a 5-year clothes washer life, the

present value of savings is estimated

to be $850 (see section titled Economic

Results). This value represents the

accumulated savings over the 5-year

life, in 1999 dollars; thus one could

pay up to an additional $850 (above

the conventional V-axis clothes

washer) for a high-performance

clothes washer to be life-cycle costeffective under these performance

and economic criteria.

To calculate the net present value

of this technology over the baseline

technology, one must subtract the

incremental capital cost of the highperformance technology (i.e., the additional cost of the high-performance

clothes washer over the standard

clothes washer) from the present

value of savings. For example, if the

present value of savings is estimated

to be $850, and the incremental cost

of the high-performance technology

is $400, then the net present value is

$850 - $400 = $450. The significance

of the net present value can be thought

of this way: when making a decision

on purchasing this technology, one

should be indifferent between purchasing this technology or receiving

$450 today.

An average manufacturer’s suggested

price range for the baseline V-axis

clothes washer is $250–$400. For the

high-performance clothes washers

this range is $600–$1,500 with the

V-axis, high-performance clothes

washers at the lower end of this

range. In all cases, because these

are “manufacturer’s suggested”

price ranges, significant discounting

to the Federal sector (via GSA) can

be expected.

Federal Sector Potential

The greatest potential for Federal

sector application of high-performance

commercial clothes washers is in the

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD),

specifically on military installations.

Military installations (CONUS)

account for over 85% of the existing

commercial clothes washers, primarily in barracks, daycare, and recreation centers.(b) Based on personnel

levels, barracks inventory and an

average DoD ratio of 1 washer/15 barracks occupants, there are about 26,000

commercial clothes washers in use in

the military and the U.S. Coast Guard

combined. The total in the Federal

sector is estimated at approximately

28,000 to 30,000 commercial clothes

washers. The entire Federal sector

procures an estimated 6,000 to 7,000

commercial clothes washer each year

(a) Natural gas @32 cents/therm and a 60% efficient hot water generation/distribution system; 3.2 cents/kWh electricity cost and $1.00/1000

gallons water/wastewater cost.

(b) Note that military/federal family housing is not included since most of the purchases for family housing are by the residents, and these purchases are predominantly residential-style clothes washers.
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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with DoD accounting for 5,000 to

6,000 of those purchases.(a)

The estimated savings for the Federal

sector if all commercial clothes washers procured each year were highperformance machines based on

purchasing 6,000 high-performance

clothes washers/year is 232 million

gallons of water/year, 840 MWh/

year (motor and controls energy

savings), and 64.8 billion Btu/year

(assuming water is heated using

natural gas with a conversion efficiency of 75%). The resulting total

water and energy cost savings are

estimated at $1 million per year.(b)

Appropriate Applications

High-performance commercial

clothes washers are suitable for use

in any application where conventional (V-axis) residential style or

commercial clothes washers are currently being used. They are dimensionally the same size as standard

large/super large capacity residential

clothes washers. High-performance

commercial clothes washers can weigh

up to 60% more than a conventional

(V-axis) residential large/super capacity washer, due primarily to the added

weight needed for proper balancing

during high spin speeds. All manufacturers’ high-performance, familysized commercial clothes washers

(except those currently available from

Staber Industries and Whirlpool) are

offered in models with a stacking

dryer for applications where space

is limited. And, with the exception

of the model currently offered by

Whirlpool, the high-performance

machines are also available with coin

boxes or electronic debit card readers

for applications where customers

pay to use the machine.

The primary and most cost-effective

application in the Federal sector is

in military barracks laundry rooms

and other locations where the clothes

washers are in use several times each

day. The high-performance clothes

washer machines have a higher first

cost than most conventional commercial clothes washers, but have significant operating cost savings; thus they

become more cost-effective the greater

the number of cycles they are used

each day.

Maintenance Issues

Manufacturers offer the same standard warranty on high-performance,

family-sized commercial clothes

washers as they do for their standard

family-sized commercial clothes

washers, ranging from 1 to 3 years.

Once the washers are properly

installed and balanced by the supplier of the equipment (very important for H-axis machines since the

drum spins at a very high speed), and

the maintenance contractor/staff is

trained to maintain the new highperformance family-size commercial

clothes washers, there are no special

or additional routine maintenance

requirements for this equipment

compared to conventional familysize commercial clothes washers.

Two common maintenance issues

for high-performance machines,

particularly the H-axis washers, are

over-sudsing due to using too much

conventional washer-type soap, and,

predominantly from one manufacturer, broken lid locks. It is typical

for first time users of H-axis, highperformance machines to add the

same amount of soap as they are

used to adding to standard machines.

H-axis machines, as noted above, are

designed to use less soap. The H-axis

machines all have a sensor that is

designed to take corrective action in

the event of over-sudsing. In general, over-sudsing does not require

maintenance unless the over-sudsing

causes overflowing and results in

machine damage.

It is also typical for users of H-axis

machines to initially attempt to open

the access door without waiting for

the lid to unlock, thus either breaking the lock mechanism or otherwise

disabling it and requiring repair. User

training regarding use of soap and

instructions about the lid lock, combined with a robust design of the

locking mechanism, will reduce this

occurrence.

Utility Incentives

Many utilities are offering incentives,

principally direct rebates ranging

from $50 to $150/washer to the buyers, for the purchase of commercial

high-performance clothes washers

(OPL as well as coin/card-operated).

Utilities include energy utilities as

well as water/wastewater utilities.

For all utility programs for commercial clothes washers, the minimum

performance levels to qualify for the

rebates are based on criteria established by the CEE that include a

combination of energy factor, water

factor and remaining moisture content. An up-to-date listing of the

participating utilities, the minimum

(a) Assumes a 5-year life for the washers. Procurement includes purchase as well as leasing from clothes washer distributors, route operators, etc.

(b) Assuming an average electricity rate of 6.0 cents/kWh, average natural gas rate of 40 cents/therm, and average water/wastewater rate of

$3.00/1000 gallons. This also assumes that all hot water is generated by steam fed from a natural gas-fired central plant with a 75% efficient

delivery system.
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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qualification criteria, and qualifying

clothes washers can be found on the

CEE website at www.CEEforMT.org;

other information, including the latest utility incentives, can be received

by calling CEE at (617) 589-3949.

Fort Hood Demonstration

Fort Hood Army installation located

near Killeen, Texas, was a site for a

demonstration of high-performance,

family-sized commercial clothes

washers. This demonstration was

conducted by the Pacific Northwest

National Laboratory for the U.S. Army

Forces Command.

The objective of the study was to

measure, analyze, and report on the

efficiency of the high-performance

clothes washers relative to the conventional (baseline) V-axis clothes

washers in use at the installation.

While the information reported here

is believed to be accurate, it is not

from a controlled experiment. All

findings presented here are “average”

consumption and use findings specific

to the Fort Hood barracks setting and

thus represent an accurate long-term

“average” use profile of clothes washers at Fort Hood. The characteristics

of the clothes washers evaluated in

this study are shown in Table 1.

The Demonstration

The demonstration involved three

nearly identical barracks buildings of

the same style, size, and occupancy

levels (~ 140 troops/barracks). The

barracks also housed soldiers from the

same military assignment/training

and thus had similar laundry use

requirements. Each of the three

barracks buildings has one central

laundry room containing six clothes

washers and six clothes dryers.

Each of the three barracks buildings’

laundry rooms received identical

end-use metering equipment that

included a central data logger to

record and store the relevant per-cycle

energy and water data from each of

the six clothes washers. The baseline

V-axis and the high-performance

clothes washers were all identically

monitored for the following parameters: hot and cold water temperature (using resistance temperature

devices—RTDs), water use (using

separate hot and cold water meters),

and washer electricity use (using a

current transformer—CT).

All data stored in the central data

logger was retrieved on a weekly

basis over a phone line through the

central polling computer. Figure 1

details the metering arrangements

common to each clothes washer.

Metering Duration and Cycles

The metering of the six baseline conventional (Roper) clothes washers in

one laundry room took place over a

2-month time period in late 1997 and

included 1,050 wash cycles. The

baseline clothes washers were then

replaced by six high-performance

clothes washers from a single manufacturer and these were likewise

metered. High- performance clothes washers were also

located in the other

two identical-sized

laundry rooms and

were metered. Each

metered laundry room

was equipped with

six high- performance

clothes washers from

the same manufacturer. Metering of the

high- performance

clothes washers took

place over a 17-month

time period from

Table 1. Fort Hood clothes washer characteristics.

Clothes Washer Age of Tub Volume(1)) Axis of Clothes Number of

Brand/Manufacturer Equipment at & Machine Rotation Loading Access Doors

(Model #) Start of Study Weight of Tub Location for Loading

Roper/Whirlpool Corp. 2.50 ft3

(AL6245VWO) 6 years ~170 lb Vertical Top 1

Baseline Clothes Washer

Maytag/Maytag Corp. 2.86 ft3

(MAH14PNAWW) New 181 lb Horizontal Front 1

Speed Queen/Alliance 2.80ft3

Laundry Systems New 240 lb Horizontal Front 1

(SWF561)

Staber/Staber Industries, Inc. New 1.93 ft3

Horizontal Top 2

(2300) 220 lb

Whirlpool/Whirlpool Corp. New 3.0 ft3

Vertical Top 1

(LSW9245) ~175 lb

(1) Volume determined according to US DOE test procedure: “Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Automatic and Semi-Automatic Clothes Washers,” Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Part 430, Subpart B,

Appendix J.

In comparing clothes washers it is important to note their tub volumes; smaller tub volume may result in more clothes

washing cycles (thus more energy and water use) to wash a given volume of laundry.
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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February 1998 through July 1999.

During this metering period, the use

of the high-performance washers

ranged from 1,918 to 5,078 cycles/

manufacturer, with an average of

3,026 cycles/manufacturer.(a)

Performance and Operations

Results

Figure 2 presents the average motor

and controls electricity (machine electricity) use in kWh/cycle. The four

high-performance brands showed a

reduction in machine electricity use

over the baseline machine electricity

use of 0.26 kWh/cycle. The average

high-performance machine electricity use was 0.20 kWh/cycle. This

Figure 3 presents the average gallons/

cycle with both the hot water and cold

water components of the average

total water use shown. The four

high-performance brands showed a

significant reduction in total average

water use over the baseline machine

water use of 35.4 gallons/cycle. The

average high-performance total water

use was 18.8 gallons/cycle, resulting

in water savings of 16.6 gallons/cycle.

These savings represent a 47% reduction in total water use.

The baseline conventional machines

used an average of 9.0 gallons hot

water/cycle whereas the average

high-performance hot water use was

3.4 gallons/cycle.

The average reduction in hot water

use by the four high-performance

brands was 5.6 gallons/cycle, or

62% of the baseline machine.

The average cycles/day for each

machine in the study varied considerably ranging on average from 3.2

to 10.9 cycles/day for all 30 machines

(six conventional baseline machines

(a) The relatively short duration of metering the baseline clothes washers compared to duration of the metering of the high-performance clothes

washers was due to the site scheduling the replacement of all their V-axis washers with new high-performance washers during the time of

the baseline metering.

Figure 1. Fort Hood clothes washer metering equipment and connections.

resulted in an average electricity use

reduction of 0.06 kWh/cycle (or 23%)

for the four high-performance brands.

0.20

0.26

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

Baseline/Roper High-Performance Average

Equipment Type

Figure 2. Average motor and controls electricity use (average kWh/cycle). Ave. Motor/Controls Elec. Use (kWh/cycle)
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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plus 24 high-performance machines)

that were monitored. For the baseline (Roper) conventional machines,

the average over the time period

of monitoring for all six machines

was 4.2 cycles/day. For the highperformance machines, the average

was 7.0 cycles/day over the time

period of the monitoring for all

24 machines.

In most cases, the variance in individual machine use was related to

troop activity (i.e., variable occupancy

levels due to field exercises). Other

variables included the physical location of the machine relative to the

laundry room door. The machines

closest to the door received the greater

use, which was expected. On average,

the first two clothes washers nearest

the door were used 55% more often

than the two clothes washers farthest

from the door.(a)

It should be noted that in comparing between the high-performance

clothes washers studied, consideration should be given to the clothes

washer tub volume. Clothes washers of different tub volumes will

have an impact on the amount of

clothes washed per cycle and therefore on the amount of annual energy

and water use and savings; the relevance of this point is that three of

the four washers studied here have

significantly larger tub volumes than

the fourth. In fact, while showing

relatively similar energy and water

use, the three larger machines theoretically would be capable of washing

a load about 30–40% larger (based on

their relative tub volumes) and thus

have a higher efficiency per unit of

laundry washed. This point is relevant in situations where full loads

are commonly washed.

Economic Results

Based on Figures 1 and 2, the four

high-performance brands saved

an average of 5.6 gallons of hot

water, 11.0 gallons of cold water,

and 16.6 gallons of total water for

each cycle of use compared to the

average for the baseline conventional V-axis washers. Thus the

savings by the four high-performance

brands was 62% of hot water, 42%

of cold water, and 47% of total water.

The baseline conventional clothes

washers used an average of 5,610 Btu/

cycle of hot water energy (at the

clothes washer), and the average of

the four high-performance brands

used 2,120 Btu/cycle/machine in hot

water energy. This is an average hot

water energy savings of 3,490 Btu/

cycle/machine and does not take

into account hot water conversion

inefficiencies. Given the average use

of all five manufacturers’ machines

(baseline plus high-performance) at

Fort Hood over the time period of the

study of 6.4 cycles/day/machine

and extrapolated for an entire year

(365 days), the total water savings

of the high-performance machines

compared to the baseline conventional machines at Fort Hood is

38,780 gallons/year/machine. The

machine energy savings is 140 kWh/

year/machine, and the hot water

energy savings at the clothes washer

is 8.1 million Btu/year/machine.

Based on Fort Hood utility rates,(b)

the total water cost savings is $39/

year/machine, the total machine

electrical cost savings is $4/year/

machine, and the hot water energy

cost savings is $43/year/machine

for the high-performance machines.

This results in a total cost savings of

$86/year/machine for the average of

the four high-performance brands

compared to the conventional baseline

clothes washers.

(a) In discussions with commercial clothes washer route operators, this same phenomenon necessitates these operators to rotate equipment so

that equipment is used uniformly thus extending its life.

(b) Assuming 60% efficient hot water generation and distribution system, 32 cents/therm natural gas cost, 3.2 cents/kWh electricity cost, and

$1.00/1000 gallons water/wastewater cost for Fort Hood.

26.4

15.4

9.0

3.4

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

Baseline/Roper High-Performance Average

Equipment Type

Hot Water

(gal/cycle)

Cold Water

(gal/cycle)

Figure 3. Average total water use (average gallons/cycle). Total Water Use (gal/cycle)
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

9

How to Read and Use the Graphs

For either Figure 4 or Figure 5, select your combined water and sewer rate ($/1,000 gallons) on the horizontal (X) axis and trace a vertical line to the curve representing your

natural gas or electricity rate. At that intersection, trace a horizontal line to the vertical

(Y) axis to identify the value corresponding to “Present Value of LifeTime Energy and

Water Savings ($1999).” This dollar value is the present value of life-cycle savings of a

high-performance clothes washer compared to a conventional clothes washer. This

value does not include the incremental capital cost of the high-performance clothes

washer (if any) over a conventional clothes washer. Therefore, this value represents the

maximum incremental (or additional) capital cost one should pay for a high-performance

clothes washer over the cost of a conventional clothes washer, given the assumptions

for this analysis in Table 2. For example, from Figure 4, at a water/sewer rate of $3.00/

1000 gallons and a natural gas cost of 40 cents/therm, the present value of lifetime

savings is $850. Thus one could pay up to an additional $850 (above the cost of a conventional V-axis clothes washer) for a high-performance clothes washer to be life-cycle

cost-effective under these performance and economic criteria.

The economics and cost-effectiveness of high-performance clothes washers based on

water and energy savings will vary greatly with utility rates and clothes washer usage (i.e.,

cycles/day/machine). The lifetime energy and water savings will also vary by the performance (water and energy used) of individual manufacturer’s machines. Since Figures 4

and 5 are based on the aggregated average performance of the four manufacturers’ highperformance machines, the lifetime energy and water savings of individual manufacturer’s

high-performance machines may be different than the values show in the figures.

Data is presented in Figures 4 and 5

showing expected lifetime water

and energy cost savings of the highperformance clothes washers compared to conventional (baseline) V-axis

clothes washers. The values used

to develop the curves in Figures 4

and 5 are given in Table 2.

Figure 4 presents the present value of

lifetime combined energy and water

savings for the average of the four

manufacturers’ high-performance

clothes washers (compared to the

conventional baseline clothes washer)

as a function of water/sewer price

($/1,000 gallons) and natural gas price

(cents/therm), assuming water is

heated using natural gas with a 75%

conversion efficiency.

Figure 5 presents the present value of

lifetime combined energy and water

savings for the average of the four

manufacturers’ high-performance

clothes washers (compared to the

Fort Hood High Performance Clothes Washer Life-Cycle Savings

(savings over baseline washer, capital cost not included)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7

Combined Water and Sewer Cost ($/kgal)

0.30 $/therm

0.40 $/therm

0.50 $/therm

0.60 $/therm

Natural Gas Price 

$/therm

Present Value of Lifetime

 Energy & Water Savings (1999 $)

Figure 4. Average high-performance clothes washer lifetime savings—natural gas water heating.
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

10

conventional/baseline

clothes washers) as a

function of water/sewer

price ($/1,000 gallons)

and average electricity

price (cents/kWh), assuming water is heated

using electricity with a

100% conversion efficiency. In Figure 4, the

savings for the machine

(motor and control) electrical energy is fixed at 6

cents/kWh and included

in the analysis; in Figure 5,

this savings is calculated

based on the selected

electricity rate.

Table 2. Values used for clothes washer economic analysis.

Economic Analysis Metric Value Source/Notes

Baseline motor/controls electricity Average of the baseline (conventional)

(kWh/cycle) 0.26 machines metered values

Baseline machines water

consumption: hot/cold/total 9.0/26.4/35.4 Average of the baseline (conventional)

(gal/cycle) machines metered values

High-performance machines

motor/controls electricity 0.20 Average of the four high-performance

Consumption (kWh/cycle) brands metered values

High-performance machines water

consumption: hot/cold/total 3.4/15.4/18.8 Average of the four high-performance

(gal/cycle) brands metered values

Clothes washer use

(cycles/day/machine) 6.4 Average value of all machines

metered in the study

Clothes washer life 5 Typical commercial (OPL)

(years) washer life or lease term

Discount Rate (%) 3.1 Federal government discount rate for 1999

Fort Hood High-Performance Clothes Washer Life-Cycle Savings

(savings over baseline washer, capital cost not included)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7

Combined Water and Sewer Cost ($/kgal)

0.03 $/kWh

0.05 $/kWh

0.07 $/kWh

0.09 $/kWh

Electricity Price 

$/kWh

Figure 5. Average high-performance clothes washer lifetime savings—electric water heating. Preasent Value of Lifetime Energy & Water Savings (1999 $)
FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

11

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General Contacts

Ted Collins

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 Program Manager

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 Program

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Fax: (202) 586-3000

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Richland, WA 99352

Phone: (509) 375-6366

Fax: (509) 375-3614

steven.parker@pnl.gov

Technical Contact

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Pacific Northwest National

 Laboratory

P.O. Box 999, MSIN: K8-07

Richland, WA 99352

Phone: (509) 372-6212

Fax: (509) 372-4370

gp.sullivan@pnl.gov

Produced for the U.S. Department

of Energy (DOE) by the Pacific

Northwest National Laboratory

DOE/EE-0218

May 2000

FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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Disclaimer

This report was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy, Office of Federal Energy Management

Programs. Neither the United States Government nor any agency or contractor thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy,

completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its

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views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States

Government or any agency or contractor thereof.