BUYING GUIDE
What does a dishwasher cost per wash?
Compare installation, basket layout, electricity and water. Find out whether paying more for efficiency makes sense for your household.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Choose a dishwasher that fits your kitchen and your dishes. Calculate running costs from the label and your own usage before paying extra for a better efficiency class.
1. Check the kitchen and the baskets
Measure the installation space and check whether you need a freestanding, integrated or semi-integrated model. For a built-in machine, confirm the furniture door, hinge arrangement and plinth clearance in the installation instructions. Then consider your largest plates, pans and glasses. Ask to try the basket layout in a shop. A higher place-setting count is not much help if your everyday cookware prevents a sensible load.
2. Compare the same programme
The EU label gives electricity use per 100 eco cycles and water use per eco cycle, alongside capacity, duration and noise. Compare those values for similarly sized machines. Other programmes and loads can consume different amounts. Check whether the stated eco duration fits the time between meals. For an open kitchen, consider the noise figure as well as the purchase price; a cycle you avoid running is not a useful efficiency gain.
3. Turn consumption into a household budget
Illustrative example: 65 kWh per 100 cycles at an assumed €0.30/kWh costs about €0.20 in electricity per cycle. At five washes a week, that is €50.70 a year. With 9 litres per cycle and an assumed variable water charge of €2 per cubic metre, water adds €4.68 annually. Add detergent separately. These are example inputs, not average tariffs; fixed utility charges, installation, repairs and actual programme differences are excluded.
4. Decide what an upgrade is worth
Suppose two suitable machines differ by 10 kWh per 100 cycles. At five cycles a week and €0.30/kWh, the electricity saving is €7.80 per year. A €100 premium would take about 12.8 years to recover through electricity alone under those assumptions. That is not a lifespan prediction. Better basket access or a quieter cycle may still justify the difference. Include installation and check prices for replacement baskets, seals and other service items before deciding.
Before you buy
Sources & further reading
This is buying guidance, not a hands-on product test. Examples are illustrative; check the exact model and current retailer information.