The Water Usage With a Miele Washing Machine

Energy Star

The Miele Corporation states that all of its washers qualify for the Energy Star program. Energy Star is run by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These two federal entities have a vested interest in making sure that consumers conserve water, as well as reduce electrical energy usage. The administrators of the Energy Star program put forth the measuring standards and formulas that Miele and other appliance manufacturers use to calculate water usage in washing machines.

Energy Star requires that Miele calculate the water factor, or WF. This number measures water usage across Miele's washing machines as well as other competing brands. The cubic foot capacity of the drum inside washers varies greatly, and the fact that a machine has a higher capacity doesn't accurately indicate water usage. The formula is as follows: WF = Q/C. Q is the total weighted per-cycle water consumption, and C is the washer's capacity.

As of December 2010, Miele's Large Capacity W3039 washer has a WF of 4.4, and the Super-Large Capacity W4842 washer has a WF of 4.2. The lower the WF, the more efficient is the washer. To look up the WF for other Miele model numbers, navigate to the main Clothes Washers Web page on the Energy Star website, and then click on "Specifications."

Energy Star also instructs washer manufacturers to calculate annual water usage, measured in gallons per year. The Miele W3039 model uses 3,043 gallons, and the Miele WW4842 model uses 5,091 gallons per year. Many households are on a weekly or monthly budget. This yearly data might be more useful if you divide Miele's annual data by 12 for monthly usage or 52 for weekly usage, like so: 3,043 / 12 = 253.6 gallons per month; or 3,043 / 52 = 58.5 gallons per week.

Miele produces super-capacity washers, but every load of clothes may not need to use such an abundant amount of water. The company programmed some washer models to detect the size of the load in the drum automatically. If the load is small, based on specifications set at the factory, the washer will decrease the amount of water usage during the washing and rinsing phases of the chosen cycle. Another, beneficial side effect of this washer automation is that it may reduce total cycle time, decreasing your electrical expenses as well.