Contribution to the current debate on the optimisation of the real-life-efficiency of automatic domestic dishwashers by using short programs with ‘high-performance’ detergents

Abstract Developing programs for automatic domestic dishwashers requires balancing energy consumption and program duration with cleaning and drying performance. For the EU-regulated ECO program, an inherent trade-off in program duration and energy consumption may contribute to a usage frequency of around 20–30 %, thus offering potential for further improvement of dishwasher real-life-efficiency (RLE). Academic research suggests that dishwasher RLE may be enhanced by modifying consumer behaviour to increase ECO program use and by employing ‘high-performance’ (HP) detergents in short programs. Here, we show that a recently proposed chemistry-aided ‘short ECO’ program cleans and dries worse while consuming more energy than a modern ECO program, if measured according to the compulsory methodology of EN/IEC 60436. Hence, HP-detergents alone do not suffice to develop a ‘short ECO’ program equipotent to the conventional ECO program. Overall, enhancing dishwasher RLE is a complex topic involving both technological and social aspects. We propose crucial questions that should be addressed in future discussions, and argue that (a) a common definition of (types of) short programs, (b) an in-depth analysis of the relevance of short programs for dishwasher consumers, and (c) the consideration of practical issues are pivotal aspects for further enhancements of the real-life-efficiency and sustainability of dishwashers.