Dishwasher and Washing Machine 'ECO' Modes. Help!

[charliegolf]

I have a dishwasher (Bosch, oldish) which works perfectly well on a 25 min wash. Wifey, is a born-again eco warrior, who feels the 2hr ish ECO mode 'must' be better. HTF can it be better if using 4x the energy?

The washer has a good 18 min quick wash, but no, ECO 'must' be better. Same energy gripe from me.

What are these ECO modes offering?

Ta.

 

[SFK]

Less heating of water (cooler water), but more pumping time to rinse plates longer with that cooler water.

Heating takes a lot of energy. Pumping less.
Hot water cleans plates quicker, cooler water cleans plates slower.

So yes eco modes do save on total electric (and often water) used.
But they have to be long.

Same goes for washing machines.
BUT my washing machine cycle is now 4hrs long when on ECO.

 

[charliegolf]

Damn, SFK, my arguing position is shot now! But thanks.

 

[SFK]

Pleasure. :>

Have to change your argument to
- time is money, shorter washes more cost effective when watching machine working.
or
- Shorter washes cause less damage to machine so machine will last longer (not sure about this one - but have considered it a few times wondering if 30mins vs 4hrs of damage to bearings/etc makes a difference?).