Energy efficient dishwasher harnesses power of zeolites

The mantras of energy conservation are beginning to sink in; the many ways that we can save energy around the home have been drummed into us, and we’re becoming wiser about the consequences of profligate energy use. In many cases, it is simply good thrifty sense: switch off lights and appliances when you are not using them, and so on.

But it is tricky to save energy all the time, especially when labour-saving appliances are involved. We are used to having washing machines and dishwashers, but the benefits come at the price of their energy usage. We have to depend on the engineers that design the appliances to come up with ways to shrink their energy consumption.

One innovative way of doing this has been devised by BSH, a joint venture between Bosch and Siemens which develops appliances that are sold under both companies’ brand names. BSH has developed a dishwasher that uses zeolites, a material commonly used in the chemical industries, to reduce the energy usage of a dishwasher by 20 per cent. Sold under the name ’speedMatic’, the dishwasher recently won an innovation award from the German environment ministry.