The secret to highly efficient dishwashers is electronics.

Sensors can measure the weight of the dishes and the clarity of the water (to determine how dirty the dishes are), then determine how hot the water must be to clean those dishes.

Taking all those variables into account, the average high-efficiency dishwasher uses three to seven gallons of water. Older models use eight to 15 gallons per load, says the California Urban Water Conservation Council.

Asko produces a model that uses only three gallons per load. This summer, two Bosch models will appear that run a regular cycle with as little as 1.8 gallons.

Rene Kan, with the Bosch parent company BSH, says, ``When you click the regular wash or auto wash, there are 48 paths it can take, depending on water temperature, load and all kinds of factors, rather than saying pots and pans need eight gallons at 150 degrees.''

Bosch's top-line machines also offer an eco-option button that reduces water and electricity by 20 percent for lightly soiled dishes.

Consumer Reports' Greener Choices rates efficient appliances independent of EPA's Energy Star.

The Greener Choices program has found that the ''government [in its Energy Star program] has only been washing clean dishes, not dirty dishes,'' says Urvashi Rangan, project director. ''A dishwasher adjusts amount of water to use from dirt sensors.'' Without any dirt, she said, ``putting a WaterSense label on a product might not make so much sense.''

Greener Choices points to Asko's $1,600 dishwasher as using the least energy and water. Two Bosch models rate tops overall, considering washing, noise, energy and water use and ease of loading at half the cost of Asko's machine. Best buys, says Greener Choices, are Maytag, Whirlpool and Amana.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@