De-coding the Laundry Factor!

Pinellas Energy Efficiency Project

When choosing a clothes washing machine, you need to know just how much energy it uses per cycle. Clothes washer energy consumption is measured in two ways.

• MEF (Modified Energy Factor) measures the energy used during the washing process, including washing machine energy consumption per cycle, hot water energy consumption, and dryer energy required for the removal of the remaining moisture in the wash load—the higher the MEF, the more energy efficient the clothes washer.
• WF (Water Factor) measures the gallons of water used per cycle per cubic foot. The lower the WF, the less water the machine uses. As of 2011, ENERGY STAR® qualified washing machines are 59% more efficient than mandated energy standards (U.S. Department of Energy, March 2008).

Clothes dryers are measured by EF (Energy Factor); the number of pounds of clothing a dryer can dry with 1 kilowatt-hour of usage.

See the ENERGY STAR® Web site for a listing of ENERGY STAR® qualified clothes washers and more details on Modified Energy Factors and Water Factors, along with other information that is useful in sorting out your options. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy requires the industry to thoroughly test and report the energy usage of all appliances.

To learn more about an Energy Efficient Laundry Area, click here to download this pdf fact sheet from the University of Florida / IFAS.