Saving hot water in a house with two teenagers – quite a challenge. Because the washing machine runs about as often with teenagers as with babies and small children: constantly. Not only because they find it impossible to wear the same clothes twice in a row without washing them, but also because looking ahead isn’t their thing. Of course, the pants the 18-year-old MUST wear to school the next day are now in the laundry basket (as if she had no others) and need a quick wash. Individual. Of course you don’t get the idea to wash other things with it. For example, my brother’s shirts. Nor has he stopped to think that it is unwise to put on the last black shirt on Sunday when a black shirt is mandatory at work, which starts again tomorrow. And then he washes his shirts separately. Including cups of course.
The bottlenose dolphin is also a bit of my sore point. I confess: whatever works, I tumble. Because I just find hanging the washing so incredibly annoying. Especially socks. In the time I tidy up and hang up socks, I can clean the whole house!
We don’t shower for hours either, but I must confess: all three of us are hot and long showerers. Me, because in the shower I often compose texts in my head and forget the time. The kids, because it takes a lot of time to properly care for the all-important teenage hair – and that goes for both sexes. In our case, we don’t even need to mention the – probably not to be taken seriously – tip to shower for two. But my son showers more often at the gym. Then he needs energy there, but I assume that he will be under the warm water for much less time than at home. Finally a plus.
The tip that it is better to take a shower instead of a bath is also not easy for me to implement. Because bathing has a different purpose than showering. The last is to cleanse, the first to relax. And I’ve been treating myself to that two to three times a week so far, especially in the winter. Also increasingly with a bad conscience – which is not exactly conducive to relaxation. From that point of view, less bathing would be more relaxing in my case… I’m definitely going to try it. Can I also teach my teenagers to think about washing technology? I’ll let you know in two weeks.
Eva Geilinger, specialist for energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and Lukas Trümpi, specialist for buildings at the Bundesamt für Energie:
“Anyone who has an older washing machine saves about 1 kWh at 40 °C for every wash that is not carried out – for example for loose clothing – but half less with an economical new appliance. Washing cold at 20 to 30 degrees and economy programs halve the power consumption. Tumble dryers with a heat pump consume about 2 to 3 kWh for 8 kg of laundry, old condenser dryers consume double that. If you go into the tumble dryer, you must already set the highest possible spin speed for the washing program, because moisture is removed much more efficiently by centrifugation than by tumbling. This reduces drying time and saves electricity in the tumble dryer.
When showering, we recommend a water temperature close to body temperature, ie approx. 37 °C. Of course it can also be a bit cooler. As for duration, the shorter the better. In addition, the water should be turned off when you wash your hair. Taking a shower instead of a bath reduces energy consumption by a factor of 3, depending on the duration of the shower and the water flow, which corresponds to approximately 3 to 4 kWh per cycle.”
You too? What is your energy balance when it comes to washing, showering and bathing? Let us know in the comment column!
