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Energy Use Inside and Outside the Dwelling – 2007 Survey of Household Energy Use – Supplemental Report

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Energy use inside the dwelling

Clothes washers and dryers

This section focuses on the types of equipment that households used to wash and dry their clothes and on how the use of these major appliances has changed over time.

Clothes washers

In 2007, nearly 90 percent of households used a clothes washer in their house or apartment unit. This percentage does not include clothes washers used in common laundry areas of a building. Since a high percentage of households used this major appliance, it has been important for SHEU to gather data on the energy efficiency characteristics and use of these appliances.

Changing characteristics of the types of clothes washers

The two basic types of clothes washers are front-loading and top-loading. Both types have about the same capacity. However, front-loading models use significantly less energy.9 Results from Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada indicate that an increasing percentage of clothes washers being shipped for purchase by Canadians are front-loading clothes washers.10 These results are consistent with data gathered from SHEU-2003 and SHEU-2007, which indicate that these energy-efficient models are becoming more common with households (see Figure 15).

Figure 15. Distribution of clothes washers by washer type, SHEU-2003 and SHEU-2007.

Among households that used a clothes washer within their dwelling, the vast majority of households used a top-loading model in 2003 and 2007. However, an increasing percentage of households used a front-loading model. SHEU-2003 found that 12 percent of these households used this type of washer, while SHEU-2007 found that the percentage had increased to 21 percent. This trend will likely continue as the older stock of clothes washers used by households is slowly replaced by newer units. In fact, 2007 clothes washer shipment data from Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada indicates that for the first time in Canada, the majority of clothes washers available for purchase by households were front-loading.

Changing characteristics of water temperature used

One way to conserve energy is to reduce or eliminate the hot water used for washing clothes. Households appear to be becoming more aware of this, because SHEU-1993 to SHEU-2007 found that households have used cold water more often and hot water less often than before (see Figure 16).

Figure 16. Water temperature used for washing clothes among households with a clothes washer, SHEU-1993 to SHEU-2007.

From SHEU-1993 to SHEU-1997, the percentage of households that used cold water for most of their clothes washing slightly decreased, from 32 percent to 29 percent, among households that used a clothes washer in their dwelling. However, since 1997, the percentage has dramatically increased. By 2007, 50 percent of households used mostly cold water for clothes washing.

Likewise, an increasing number of households with a clothes washer have also used cold water to rinse their clothes (see Figure 17). The percentage of households that used cold water for rinsing their clothes has steadily increased, from 76 percent in SHEU-1993 to 83 percent in SHEU-2007. This means that in 2007, more than four out of five households with a clothes washer used mostly cold water to rinse their clothes. These households consumed less energy simply by not using hot or warm water for rinsing.

Figure 17. Water temperature used for rinsing clothes among households with a clothes washer, SHEU-1993 to SHEU-2007.

Data from the SHEUs indicate that among households with clothes washers, using cold water for washing and rinsing clothes has become more prevalent. However, because some households use their clothes washer more often than others, it is important to examine how the use of cold water varies with the frequency of use.

SHEU-2007 found that the use of cold water for washing clothes tended to increase when a household washed multiple loads of laundry each week (see Figure 18). Only 39 percent of households with a clothes washer that washed one or fewer loads of laundry a week used cold water for washing. However, the percentage increased to 46 percent for households that did two to three loads per week, to 53 percent for households that did four to seven loads per week and to 57 percent for households that did more than seven loads per week.

Figure 18. Water temperature used for washing clothes among households with a clothes washer, by loads of laundry per week, 2007.

Note: SHEU-2007 collected data on the number of loads of laundry washed during the winter and summer. Reported percentages in Figure 18 represent only summer loads. The percentages based on winter loads are identical or vary only by one or two percentage points.

Similarly, SHEU-2007 found that the use of cold water for rinsing increased among households that washed multiple loads of laundry each week (see Figure 19). The percentage of households with a clothes washer that used cold water to rinse their clothes steadily increased, from 70 percent for households that did one or less loads per week to 79 percent for those that did two to three loads and to 87 percent for those that did four to seven loads. The increasing trend did level off slightly for households that did the most laundry per week, more than seven loads, because 88 percent of these households used mostly cold water for their rinsing.

Figure 19. Water temperature used for rinsing clothes among households with a clothes washer, by loads of laundry per week, 2007.

Note: SHEU-2007 collected data on the number of loads of laundry washed during the winter and summer. Reported percentages in Figure 18 represent only summer loads. The percentages based on winter loads are identical or vary only by one or two percentage points.

It is important that households that frequently used their clothes washer continue to use mostly cold water for washing and rinsing their clothes, because their choice of water temperature has a more significant impact on household energy consumption than that of a household that infrequently uses their clothes washer.

Clothes dryers

In 2007, nearly 90 percent of households used a clothes dryer in their dwelling. Among these households, nearly 65 percent also reported using a clothesline or drying rack to dry clothing. As shown in Figure 20, these households significantly changed their use of their clothes dryer according to the season.

Figure 20. Weekly loads of laundry dried in the clothes dryer among households with a clothes dryer and a clothesline / drying rack, by seasonal use, 2007.

Among households that had a clothes dryer and a clothesline / drying rack, more than 50 percent dried four or more loads of laundry in their clothes dryer in an average week during the winter. However, fewer of these households used their clothes dryer as frequently during the summer. In fact, less than 30 percent of these households dried four or more loads in the clothes dryer in an average week during the summer. Many of these households switched from using a clothes dryer to a clothesline / drying rack to dry their laundry during the summer. This seasonal reduction in the use of clothes dryers is a simple and effective way for households to reduce their energy consumption.

9 Natural Resources Canada, Office of Energy Efficiency, Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada, Trends for 1990–2008, page 80, table C.40.
10 Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada, Trends for 1990–2008, page 78, table C.35.

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