Efficiency Continued

Energy Star Appliances
Several main appliances in the house are Energy Star appliances. Energy Star appliances are more efficient in use of energy than other appliances of a similar capacity, and they can be purchased at any major appliance store. The Energy Star appliances in the Ecohouse are the refrigerator, the dishwasher, and the clothing washer.

Refrigerator
The refrigerator uses 1000 watts, which is approximately 40% of the output of the solar panels. One aspect of its design that lends to its efficiency is that the freezer is on the bottom. Since heat rises, having the freezer closer to the floor means that the freezer must use less energy to stay cold.

Dishwasher
Ecohouse Residents wash most of their dishes by hand, but when they have guests over for potlucks and open houses, they use their Danby Designer dishwasher. The European-designed dishwasher is smaller than a standard dishwasher because the Ecohouse has a small number of residents. The smaller size is more efficient because when it is used to wash the dishes in the house it is more likely to be full. Most dishwashers of a similar size use between 312kWh/yr to 573kWh/yr, but the Ecohouse dishwasher uses only 280kWh/yr.

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