iPad App for Evaluating Household Appliances

Called “energyRater” the new app can answer questions such as whether it would pay off to replace an Energy Efficiency Class B tumble dryer with a blueTherm heat pump dryer after five years, or how much money could be saved if the ten year-old refrigerator was disposed off and replaced with an A+++ appliance from Siemens.

To calculate the savings, users first have to select whether the appliance in question is a dryer, dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator, or cooking range. They then select whether the device is new or old — either five or ten years old — or they enter some other data by hand. Further settings include the frequency with which the device is used in the household, the respective electricity and water fees, and the number of years the appliance is likely to be in use. Once this information has been entered, energyRater shows how much the savings will be. The results can be stored in order to calculate the total savings for several devices. Users can also e-mail the results.

Two particularly energy-efficient appliances are the blueTherm tumble dryer and the speedMatic dishwasher. In the case of the blueTherm, a comparison with a ten year-old device and a use of five times a week shows that electricity costs are cut by about €1,000 in total. The blueTherm features a unique automatic lint removal system and new heat pump technology. The dryer is therefore 40 percent better than the highest European Energy Efficiency Class A, and consumes only half as much electricity as conventional Energy Efficiency Class B appliances.

The Siemens speedMatic dishwasher has a special zeolitic drying system that makes it 20 percent more efficient than devices of the best Energy Efficiency Class A. The energyRater app calculates that a speedMatic that is used every day cuts electricity and water costs by a total of almost €600, compared to a ten year-old predecessor device.