solar powered washing machine

[paul123456]

hello there ,

just made another step to reduce our c0.2 , or not ?
The warm water which comes now from the solar panels , and or the woodstoves is being fed to the washing machine , through the storage heater .
So the washing machine will no more be heating water but it will be fed directly from the storage system
which is always at a minimum of 53 degrees .
But then the wife made a remark :what about in the summer when the tank reaches a temp of 95 degrees ?
This means my socks and t shirts will come out 6 sizes smaller , and , to control the temperature going to the
washing machine , would a mixing tap do the job ?

Anyone an idea of what a washing machine uses per year for heating water ?

regards ,

Paul

[brett53]

http://www.greenconsumerguide.com/washing_machines.php

http://www.washerhelp.co.uk/topics/eco- ... abels.html

above may be of interest

an "A" rated machine uses approx 1 kw per cycle - dependent on a number of factors - so the heating bit ??

have you thought about washing with cold water ?? - i use one of those new cool liquid thingies ( ariel ) - and it seems to get my cloths perfectly clean - i only ever need to use a really hot wash for stuff that gets well soiled - such as jeans etc - and a medium one for the rest - but cool/cold works fine most of the time

also my machine has a"mini" wash cycle - only 30 Min's as opposed to a couple of hours ( waiting for the water ?? as it only has a cold feed - well i only feed it cold lets put it that way as i only have a 10 Lr boiler in the place ( zip aqua point 2 - excellent bit of kit for one or two persons with minimal demands ) - and for used but not that dirty washing ,this does just fine

depends how fastidious the significant other is one supposes or yourself if on own

[paul123456]

hello there ,

I am not convinced of the new low temperature washing soaps,
it is a bit like oxi vanish or whatever , the one of the tv advertisement , "she" pours a liquid on a greased
oven and just wipes it of ?????????????
Was the advert taped in Euro Disney or was it a chemical Goerge Dubbaya lynched Saddam for ?
Such wonder cleaners do not exist , to clean clothes , materials , warm or hot water is needed.
It's all a commercial joke of NEstle and or Unilever , or are they the same ?

regards ,

Paul

[brett53]

well to be fair i speak as i find with the product mentioned - and yea agree with those adverts - they don't work so well on ground in /dried in / baked on for a couple of days stuff ( eg real stains and spills as opposed to ones put on 10 seconds before filming advert )

may be some of the ladies would like to comment as washing products are usually more their area of expertise

[contadino]

But then the wife made a remark :what about in the summer when the tank reaches a temp of 95 degrees ?
This means my socks and t shirts will come out 6 sizes smaller , and , to control the temperature going to the
washing machine , would a mixing tap do the job ?

Yes, what you need is a thermostatic mixing valve (TMV.) They mix down hot water with cold to the temperature you set them to - 40º, 60º, etc.. Beware, however, as most brands of cold-feed-only washing machines on the market now are only guaranteed to 60º max.

I don't know the precise figures, and I expect that it varies dramatically between models, but as an indication, since we installed our TMV, the duration of a wash cycle has been cut by between 50 and 70%.

[Big Al]

hello there ,

just made another step to reduce our c0.2 , or not ?
The warm water which comes now from the solar panels , and or the woodstoves is being fed to the washing machine , through the storage heater .
So the washing machine will no more be heating water but it will be fed directly from the storage system
which is always at a minimum of 53 degrees .
But then the wife made a remark :what about in the summer when the tank reaches a temp of 95 degrees ?
This means my socks and t shirts will come out 6 sizes smaller , and , to control the temperature going to the
washing machine , would a mixing tap do the job ?

Anyone an idea of what a washing machine uses per year for heating water ?

regards ,

Paul

Paul,
You will also need to check the age of your machine. If it's one of the newer one feed I.E. cold only feed then the pipes inside the washer may not be of quality to withstand the higher temperiture. The older two feed machines had high temperiture piping to make sure that the hottest water available didn't damage the machines but there is no need for these high temp piping with cold water an d as it is more expensive these pipes were discontinued very fast.

Your idea of saving heating the water is laudable but a new washer is an expense [ in C02 manufacture cost] that would outway what you save in the heating the water conventionally.

Maybe you can find a way of putting the hot water into a seperate tank then mixing this with cold water then feeding this to the washer at the right temp. Of course the plastic expansion tanks are not heat safe so bear that in mind with this idea.

[theabsinthefairy]

Our washing machine runs directly from our hot water tank.

It is about 10 years old, which we found in the scrap heap locally, just needed the water pump freeing off as it was jammed (oh and it was covered in daubs of paint and plaster - but these cleaned off really easily).

Our hot water tank is a twin coil system, either heated from the Rayburn or the solar panel, we have a temperature feed reading on the return pipe of the tank (a car temperature dial (capillary) set into my handbuilt sink unit) so I know what temperature the water in the tank is at.

I therefore run the washing machine after everyone has had baths, washed their hair, done the washing up, and usually early in the morning when the water temp tends to drop to its lowest - about 30 C.

I wash everything at this low temperature with soap nuts, the machine is set at cold (it does have an electric heating capacity - but as I never turn the dial to turn it on, it never activates). I have occasionally run it at a hotter tank temperature (for oily clothes) but consider this to be a waste of hot water to be honest, when 30 c does a good job on everything.

Would never consider running a standard electric washing machine again - our wash cycle is 30 mins, no additional electricy is used to heat the water, and our clothes are clean.

Oh - and the washing machine water - as it runs on soap nuts rather than detergents, is syphoned off to irrigate the garden in the summer.

[madabouthens]

Hi, Abs....Fairy.You say you found your washing machine on the tip. Older machines tend to outlive newer models, so it sounds as if you have a gem. What type of machine is it ?

[theabsinthefairy]

It is a Vedette - a mid to low budget range here in France. It loads through the top, kind of like a twin tub, but one cyclinder, that you access through a hatch on the top.

[harymartinn]

As an investment the pay-back is very much a function of energy price inflation, my estimate is that at 10% inflation it's a 6 year pay back. But as an environmental decision it makes more sense.Anyways thanks for the good idea.

[battybird]

Hi When I was visiting my sister in law in New Zealand, I realised they only have cold water detergents and have done for many years. Apparently it is a prejudice in Uk and there have been several attempts to introduce them but usually fail as we do feel we need hot water to clean things! I have to say the clothes were very clean and fresh, even the teenage boys footie gear came up nicely. They use top loading machines, maybe the different action helps?? I know that I spent a long while in portugal hand washing clothes with cold water (from the streaam, newts and tadpoles filtered out first!) and although it took a lot of wrist power they come clean! Now have a twin tub which I can fill with whatever temp water is available (from solar panel, sun heated pipes or heated on woodburner!), this uses minimal electricity max 300w rather than 3000w for some automatics as we have no mains, 1400 spin, and three loads done including machine emptied within 45 mins. Unfortunately I have to be there all the time unlike auto machines! I dont know why but I still feel I need at least warm water!

[shiela_robins]

Necessity is the mother of invention. I love reading about stuff like this it is inspiring. Keep up the good work!

Incidentally, is it true that front loading washing machines are more energy efficient than top loading ones? In terms of water and energy consumption?

[mamos]

The problem with low temperature washing is you don't kill off things like bed bugs and dust/pillow mites.

You just end up with clean bugs

mamos

[KathyLauren]

Incidentally, is it true that front loading washing machines are more energy efficient than top loading ones? In terms of water and energy consumption?

Oh, yes, definitely. Instead of filling up the tub with water, they run with just a little puddle of water in the bottom of the drum. Much, much lower water consumption and therefore much less energy required to heat it. We got one for the water saving, since our well produces marginal quantity in the summer.

[JillStephens7]

Oh this is great!

Our washing machine (front loading zanussi 20ish yrs old) only has presets and the lowest on is a 30 degrees quick rinse programme which is no use for anything really dirty (because of the programme not the water temperature I mean).

Is there any way I can override this to wash with cold water do you think?

Or would solar heating water get it up to temperatures the machine thinks it needs to set off?

Could anyone point me in the direction of some basic information about running a machine on solar heated water.

Sorry, I am very unknowledgeable about this but would love to be able to get this machine running using less electric.

Thanks, Jill