Topic: A rated appliances

[ACE]

This really is a big con. We have 'Eco' settings on loads of appliances now, just so the manufacturers can say they are lowering our carbon footprint and stamp it with an A rating. Might just as well leave the toast on the radiator if all I want is warm white bread. While I'm at it I shall just rinse my plate with cold water and reuse it still dirty the same as it comes out of the dish washer, exactly the same with my undercrackers after an 'eco' wash in the washing machine. I am surprised that nobody has thought about selling you a flat rock with instructions of how to use it in the stream.

The vacuum cleaner takes longer now it has a lower suction, so the same energy used, now I see that kettles will have to be a lower power by law, they will still need X amount of energy to boil X amounts of water. Who do they think they are kidding?

[Bill Door]

Wow Ace you do surprise me.  You have heat going through your radiators. 

I think the reduction in power take up is so that Michael, or John or Eric or dawn or Steph at the National grid office does not have to move so fast after Eastenders to "Fill" the energy gap.

I undertsnd that last night there was a substantial delay in the power demand after last nights "live" broadcast.

I also heard that the people on the space station heard  the "UHHHHHHH" coming from this part of the world at the same time.

So as you can see stupidity happens all over the place and we only have to live our lives and take care not to bruise the dust.

By the way I have a big flat rock but no instructions, can you help me?

Regards

Bill
P.S. I think they think they are kidding us!!  Enjoy your gardening

[kGarden]

Happy with our Eco white goods - although there was an issue with the washing machine gunking up, which turned out to be because it was only ever used on low temperature ... solution was to use a high temperature wash occasionally.

We definitely get clan plates every time from the dishwasher, and the thing uses a fraction of the water, and power, of our old white goods.  We used to use the timer on it to come on at night (we had economy-7 tariff, but even if not there is surplus electricity at night so would be doing the environment a favour?? ...) but now we have PV panels so I suppose I should remember to put it on only on Sunny days? :)

My only bug-bear is that the feed to the machines is now cold-only, and we have Solar Thermal Hot water, so get "free" (or should that be "eco"?!) hot water on sunny days and I'd like to use that in the washing machines ... but even if connected to hot feed the hot water would not have travelled in the pipe as far as the machine because it uses so little water that . Progress!

Can't say about Vacuum cleaner though (Seems daft to me for exactly the reason you say, until someone invents a low-power high-suction replacement - that should have come before the ban?? IMO) because we have a central vacuum cleaner plumbed into the whole house.  Blinking wonderful, nothing wearing out / clogging up every couple of years requiring chucking it away and buying another to get back to the original "power", and it only needs its "bag" emptying about once every 6 months ...

Can't comment on the kettle either as we don't have one of those either ... we have a Quooker hot tap (outrageously expensive though :( ) which is always-hot.  I used to be terrible for boiling a kettle at least half full to get one cup of coffee AND for walking away and coming back half an hour later, by which time it was stone cold, and having to reboil it.  Hopefully, now, the stay-hot energy requirement of the Quooker is trivially low so that I am saving significantly on my previous reboil, or boil-too-much-water, bad habits.

Boy's Toys though, of course,and I do like 'em ... :)

[Obelixx]

Pleased with our eco machines too and the leccy bill had gone down considerably but then we installed photo voltaic panels and now we have a surplus.  Unfortunately, the Belgian system doesn't pay us for the surplus produced as they run things differently.   Felt odd at first running the washing machines by day instead of on the cheap overnight rate.

The dishwasher does a very good job and we have a new washing machine since the old one died on Twelfth Night.   It takes twice the load so I do half the washes.  I've been advised to do at least one hot wash a month to keep it gunge free.

Our vaccuum cleaner is an old Miele so still powerful especially with a new bag.  Trying to persuade OH to buy a robot that can trundle around all day picking up muck and hair from the cat and dogs with me just doing an occasional spruce right into the corners and under the furniture where it won't reach.  In this weather I have to do the floor every day but soon I'll be wanting to her outdoors and not her indoors so a robot would be good.

[Ellen K]

My new washing machine has taken some getting used to - it's just replaced a 25 year old machine which filled off the hot water system and rinsed well with loads of water.  New machine may use a bit less but what is the point to save 200 watts when you slinging everything into the tumble dryer afterwards and burn 5KW? 

My washing machine has an eco setting but you can override it with "Speed Perfect" and "Aqua Plus" and of course I always select those functions.  It's supposed to take up to 8 kg of washing but if you put anything like that in, it wont spin.  So it's Eco credentials are totally bogus. 

I'm hoping my 2 KW vacuum cleaner will see me out too.

[Obelixx]

My machine has an optional extra rinse cyccle whic I always use and a 1400 spin.  Never use a tumble dryer.  Just bung it all on racks in the attic to dry naturally.  Can't put it outside cos 9 times out of 10 either the wind blows it off or the birds decorate it.

[BarriedaleNick]

The eco mode on my dishwasher is great - takes 25 mins and 99/100 it is perfectly clean. We do rinse the plates etc as we put them in, as there are only two of us we only do a load every few days and it tends to dry on if we don't give it a quick rinse.  Got rid of all our carpets except the stairs so our vacuum cleaner (we have an old Miele too) doesn't have much to (not that I use it anyway).  The washing machine (another object that I have nowt to do with) only ever gets put on the cool wash and it all seems clean enough.  Don't have a tumble dryer - don't need one.  My coffee machine gets more use then the kettle but I have no idea if it is A rated or Z rated but it makes great coffee.

[Obelixx]

No carpets here either.  Chestnut floorboards upstairs and tiles downstairs with rugs here and there.   Given the muck in the water when I wash the floor after vaccuum cleaning I couldn't imagine having carpets again, knowing how much muck would be lurking.    As it is, with two dogs and an OH I need to go round downstairs with a damp cloth every day and with the Lab shedding at the mo and both dogs coming back in with grubby paws, I need to vac every day too.