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Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada, Trends for 1990–2008

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Chapter 6 Clothes Washers

6.1 Overview

Clothes washers in the residential sector

Eighty-eight percent of Canadian households had a clothes washer in 2007.27 In that year, clothes washers consumed 2.3 petajoules in the residential sector,28 representing 1.8 percent of major household appliance energy use (a proportion that is the least of all the appliances and has remained the same since 1990).29

This chapter examines clothes washer shipment data in Canada from 1990 to 2008. Section 6.2 examines the improvement of unit energy consumption (UEC) of clothes washers during this period. Subsequent sections analyze specific characteristics of clothes washers and their influence on energy consumption. The shipment data is examined by type (Section 6.3), UEC (Section 6.4) and channel (Section 6.5).

6.2 Average annual unit energy consumption by model year

The UEC of clothes washers decreased dramatically between 1990 and 2008 (see Figure 27). During this period, the average annual UEC fell by 79 percent, from 1218 to 261 kilowatt hours per year (kWh/yr). This decrease is due to both energy efficiency improvements across all types of clothes washer and the increasing popularity of front-loading units, which are more energy-efficient than top-loading units.

Figure 27 Average annual UEC of clothes washers, 1990–2008.

6.3 Distribution of shipments by type

Front-loading clothes washers became much more popular between 2001 and 2008 (see Figure 28). In 2001, these clothes washers only accounted for 16 percent of shipments in Canada.30 However, by 2008 they accounted for 61 percent of shipments.

Figure 28 Distribution of clothes washers by type, 2001 and 2008.

The popularity of front-loading clothes washers varies significantly by region (see Table 9). In 2008, front-loading clothes washers were most popular in British Columbia (where they accounted for 73 percent of shipments) and least popular in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec (where they accounted for 52 percent of shipments).31

Table 9 Distribution of clothes washers by type and region/province, 2008

Region/Province Clothes washer shipments
  Front-loading (%) Top-loading (%)
Canada 60.5 39.5
Atlantic and Quebec 51.6 48.4
Ontario 64.0 36.0
Prairies 63.7 36.3
British Columbia 72.7 27.3

The popularity of front-loading clothes washers has implications for energy consumption because these washers tend to consume significantly less energy than do top-loading washers. Although the energy efficiency of top-loading clothes washers has improved substantially, they still consumed more than twice as much energy (on average) as front-loading washers in 2008 (see Figure 29).

Figure 29 Average annual UEC of clothes washers by type, 2000–2008.

6.4 Distribution of shipments by unit energy consumption

Figure 30 shows how the average annual UEC of shipped clothes washers changed between 1990 and 2008. In 1990, all clothes washers consumed at least 600 kWh/yr, and 64 percent consumed 1000 kWh/yr or more. By 2008, all shipped clothes washers consumed fewer than 600 kWh/yr, and almost 45 percent consumed fewer than 200 kWh/yr.

Figure 30 Distribution of clothes washers by average annual UEC, 1990–2008.

The distribution of clothes washers by UEC showed little variation among regions in 2008, with the exception of the Atlantic provinces and Quebec. In these regions, a greater proportion of clothes washers that consumed at least 400 kWh/yr were shipped, due to a smaller penetration of front-loading units (see Tables C.37 and C.38 in Appendix C).

6.5 Distribution of shipments by channel

Ninety-four percent of clothes washers were shipped to retailers in 2008, a proportion that has remained relatively constant since 2004. In 2008, builder shipments ranged from a low of under 2 percent in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec to a high of 19 percent in British Columbia.

Table 10 Distribution of clothes washers by channel and region/province, 2008

Region/Province Clothes washer shipments
  Builder (%) Retail (%)
Canada 5.9 94.1
Atlantic and Quebec 1.6 98.4
Ontario 4.9 95.1
Prairies 8.4 91.6
British Columbia 19.1 80.9

In 2008, clothes washers shipped to builders consumed significantly more energy than those shipped to retailers (see Figure 31). Nationally, the units sent to builders consumed 13 percent more energy on average. Part of the reason for this is that more front-loading units were sent to retailers than to builders (which consume less energy than top-loading units). The difference in UEC between builder- and retailer-shipped washers was greatest the in the Prairies at 22 percent (69 kWh/yr) and least in British Columbia at 9 percent (23 kWh/yr). The average annual UEC of clothes washers generally decreased from east to west, with the exception of units sent to builders in the Prairies.

Figure 31 Average annual UEC of clothes washers by channel and region/province, 2008.

27 Natural Resources Canada, 2010, 2007 Survey of Household Energy Use – Detailed Statistical Report, Table 6.5, oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/data_e/sheu07/sheu_023_1.cfm.

28 Excluding hot water requirements.

29 Natural Resources Canada, 2009, Energy Use Data Handbook, 1990 to 2007, Residential Sector, Table 15, oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/tableshandbook2/res_00_15_e_4.cfm.

30 2001 is the first year for which comprehensive data on distribution by clothes washer type exist.

31 For confidentiality reasons, data for the Atlantic provinces and Quebec were grouped for this analysis.

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