Almost 40% of Germans do not know how much water their household uses each year, according to a survey conducted by polling institute Civey. Households that do not keep track of their utility costs may also be missing out on considerable savings, particularly when using modern, energy-efficient appliances.
Depending on where they live, households can face annual differences of up to 43 euros in water and electricity costs for washing machines and up to 19 euros for dishwashers. Choosing an energy-efficient appliance can significantly reduce the impact of these local cost differences.
IFA Berlin (www.ifa-berlin.com), the world’s leading event for home appliances and consumer electronics, analysed the water and electricity costs of running washing machines and dishwashers in Germany’s 100 largest cities.
Essen Is the Most Expensive City for Doing Laundry
Among Germany’s 20 largest cities, Essen is the most expensive place to do laundry. Based on an average of 200 wash cycles per year, households using an appliance that is around ten years old or older pay approximately 132.48 euros annually for water and electricity.
Stuttgart ranks second at 124.42 euros, followed by Duisburg at 118.87 euros. Cologne is the least expensive city, with annual costs of 89.25 euros. Doing laundry costs around 10 euros more per year in Munich (99.28 euros) and Berlin (99.70 euros). Households in Essen therefore pay almost 48% more in annual water and electricity costs for their washing machine than households in Cologne.
Essen Also Tops the Dishwashing Ranking
Essen is also the most expensive city for running a dishwasher, although the order differs slightly. Dishwashers use considerably less water than washing machines but a similar amount of electricity. As a result, local electricity prices have a greater impact on overall costs than water prices.
Households in Essen using a conventional dishwasher pay 86.69 euros per year for water and electricity, the highest amount among Germany’s 20 largest cities. Stuttgart follows at 84.12 euros, with Hamburg in third place at 81.84 euros. Cologne is once again the least expensive city at 67.29 euros, followed by Leipzig at 69.20 euros and Bonn at 70.14 euros.
Energy-Efficient Appliances Can Reduce Regional Cost Differences
Modern washing machines and dishwashers with an A energy-efficiency rating can reduce annual water and electricity costs in Germany’s 20 largest cities by an average of 47.7% compared with older appliances. Savings range from 46.4% in Bremen to 50.0% in Cologne.
Households in the most expensive cities stand to save the most in euro terms because their current water and electricity costs are higher. In Essen, households can save 59.26 euros per year on the cost of running a washing machine and 43.67 euros on dishwasher costs.
Stuttgart follows with annual savings of 56.72 and 42.67 euros respectively, while households in Hamburg can save 54.14 euros on washing-machine costs and 41.91 euros on dishwasher costs. Across all 20 cities, the average annual cost of running a washing machine falls from 110.62 to 60.14 euros. For dishwashers, the average drops from 74.90 to 36.89 euros.
Comparison of Germany’s 100 Largest Cities
Looking beyond the 20 largest cities to Germany’s 100 largest, Solingen in North Rhine-Westphalia ranks as the most expensive city overall. Based on 200 cycles per appliance each year, households there pay a combined total of approximately 226.79 euros for water and electricity.
Potsdam follows closely behind at 222.02 euros per year, while Essen ranks third with annual costs of 219.17 euros.
Cologne has the lowest combined water and electricity costs at 156.54 euros per year. The next-lowest costs are found in Regensburg at 157.10 euros and Oldenburg at 160.98 euros. This leaves an annual difference of around 70 euros between the most and least expensive cities.