When I was a lot younger, pretty much every washing machine (here in the UK) had both hot and cold fill. It went away for three reasons.
Machines got more water efficient.
Direct hot water from a combi gas boiler became the standard (replacing big jacketed tanks in most houses).
New detergents led to a campaign to encourage washing at 30°C rather than 40-60°C
It’s more cost effective to heat a small amount of water directly at100% efficiency in the machine than drawing cold water out of the pipework and either heating it then rest of the way directly or pouring it down the drain until it ran hot from the 80% efficient gas appliance.
Interesting to hear it might be making a comeback. I can see the logic if there’s a source of hot water from a heat pump, provided losses can be minimised.
Personally I have PV so (weather permitting) electric is preferable to gas other than for space heating and bathing. That could change though.
As it is, the heat pump drier, efficient as it is, still accounts for the majority of the energy used for laundry, even with the washer doing an extra spin cycle.
When I was a lot younger, pretty much every washing machine (here in the UK) had both hot and cold fill.
Huh, and I always thought that was a new and shiny thing, never saw it on older (40 yrs+) washing machines when I helped cleaning out houses or something like that. Different countries, different appliances!
than drawing cold water out of the pipework
Yes, that would be inefficient, right. New houses here usually have a hot water ring system with hot water always circulating, so only a meter or so is actual cold water in the pipe, where the connector diverts from that ring. In winter the heat loss from the ring doesn’t matter, you’re heating the house either way and in summer it doesn’t matter because PV and solar thermal bring in so much energy, you can’t use it all anyhow anyway.
Personally I have PV so (weather permitting) electric is preferable to gas other than for space heating and bathing.
Same here, PV, battery, heat pump, solar thermal, dynamic pricing electricity and for emergency situations, wood burning water heater and two pumps that runs the whole heating system off the car or a generator using a few watts. When we built the house I opted out of a gas connection, so far that seems like the right direction.
New detergents led to a campaign to encourage washing at 30°C rather than 40-60°C
I’ve found that some things require a good 75°C from time to time to not start smelling over time. Dog blankets, e.g. - but then again, from April to October hot water is practically free to me, so the temps don’t really matter.
When I was a lot younger, pretty much every washing machine (here in the UK) had both hot and cold fill. It went away for three reasons.
It’s more cost effective to heat a small amount of water directly at100% efficiency in the machine than drawing cold water out of the pipework and either heating it then rest of the way directly or pouring it down the drain until it ran hot from the 80% efficient gas appliance.
Interesting to hear it might be making a comeback. I can see the logic if there’s a source of hot water from a heat pump, provided losses can be minimised.
Personally I have PV so (weather permitting) electric is preferable to gas other than for space heating and bathing. That could change though. As it is, the heat pump drier, efficient as it is, still accounts for the majority of the energy used for laundry, even with the washer doing an extra spin cycle.
Huh, and I always thought that was a new and shiny thing, never saw it on older (40 yrs+) washing machines when I helped cleaning out houses or something like that. Different countries, different appliances!
Yes, that would be inefficient, right. New houses here usually have a hot water ring system with hot water always circulating, so only a meter or so is actual cold water in the pipe, where the connector diverts from that ring. In winter the heat loss from the ring doesn’t matter, you’re heating the house either way and in summer it doesn’t matter because PV and solar thermal bring in so much energy, you can’t use it all anyhow anyway.
Same here, PV, battery, heat pump, solar thermal, dynamic pricing electricity and for emergency situations, wood burning water heater and two pumps that runs the whole heating system off the car or a generator using a few watts. When we built the house I opted out of a gas connection, so far that seems like the right direction.
I’ve found that some things require a good 75°C from time to time to not start smelling over time. Dog blankets, e.g. - but then again, from April to October hot water is practically free to me, so the temps don’t really matter.