Energy Consumption of Clothes Washers

Key facts
- The average annual unit energy consumption (UEC) of clothes washers decreased 85% between 1990 and 2016, partly because of the increased demand for front-loading units, which are more energy-efficient than top-loading clothes washers. In 2017, the average UEC of clothes washers was 140.3 kWh/yr.1
- The average tub capacity of clothes washers increased 63% from 1990 to 2017. However, the average energy consumption per litre of tub volume decreased at a much faster rate (93%) during the same period.
- In 1990, all clothes washers consumed at least 600 kWh/yr. By 2016, 64% consumed fewer than 200 kWh/yr.2
- To learn more about purchasing an energy-efficient clothes washer, visit the ENERGY STAR clothes washers page.
Average annual unit energy consumption
The average annual UEC of clothes washers dropped by 88% between 1990 and 2017. This decrease was due to factors including:
- Energy efficiency improvements, coinciding with the introduction of, and amendments to, the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) in the Energy Efficiency Regulations
- Increasing market share of front-loading units, which are more energy-efficient than top-loading units
- More stringent MEPS and updated test procedures came into force in 2017, through amendments to the Energy Efficiency Regulations
See Choosing and Using Appliances With EnerGuide for more information.

Text version
Average annual UEC of clothes washers, 1990–2017 (kWh/yr)
Model year | kWh/yr |
---|---|
1990 | 1218.0 |
1991 | 1197.4 |
1992 | 1175.5 |
1993 | 1094.1 |
1994 | 989.1 |
1995 | 965.9 |
1996 | 948.7 |
1997 | 930.1 |
1998 | 903.3 |
1999 | 859.9 |
2000 | 838.3 |
2001 | 810.1 |
2002 | 779.2 |
2003 | 708.4 |
2004 | 572.9 |
2005 | 443.6 |
2006 | 389.6 |
2007 | 287.2 |
2008 | 261.5 |
2009 | 233.8 |
2010 | 216.8 |
2011 | 207.7 |
2012 | 220.7 |
2013 | 220.3 |
2014 | 204.6 |
2015 | 186.3 |
2016 | 178.4 |
2017 | 140.3 |
The vertical black line indicates that energy consumption figures from 2017 onward incorporate changes introduced in Amendment 13 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations and are not directly comparable to previous years' data.
Front-loading versus top-loading washers
Front-loading clothes washers tend to consume less energy and water than top-loading clothes washers. In 2001, front-loading clothes washers accounted for only 16% of clothes washer shipments in Canada; by 2017, their market share had grown to 47%.
Although the energy efficiency of top-loading washers has improved substantially over the years, they still consumed almost twice as much energy (on average) as front-loading washers in 2017.

Text version
Average annual UEC of clothes washers by type, 2001–2017 (kWh/yr)
Model year | Front-loading | Top-loading |
---|---|---|
2001 | 287.0 | 904.7 |
2002 | 300.6 | 871.1 |
2003 | 274.8 | 826.9 |
2004 | 258.4 | 702.3 |
2005 | 218.8 | 608.8 |
2006 | 202.7 | 555.0 |
2007 | 183.9 | 415.1 |
2008 | 179.4 | 387.2 |
2009 | 172.0 | 331.9 |
2010 | 148.3 | 318.7 |
2011 | 138.1 | 299.9 |
2012 | 131.5 | 319.0 |
2013 | 119.3 | 317.2 |
2014 | 119.4 | 284.9 |
2015 | 117.7 | 251.8 |
2016 | 112.2 | 238.5 |
2017 | 94.6 | 181.4 |
Tub capacity
The average tub capacity of clothes washers increased 63% from 1990 to 2017. However, the average energy consumption per tub litre has decreased at a much faster rate during the same period (93%). These changes indicates that consumers are washing substantially more clothes per load and using significantly less energy to do so.

Text version
Average tub capacity of clothes washers, 1990–2017 (litres)
Model year | Average clothes washer tub capacity |
---|---|
1990 | 72.72 |
1991 | 76.08 |
1992 | 77.03 |
1993 | 77.13 |
1994 | 77.75 |
1995 | 78.02 |
1996 | 80.17 |
1997 | 79.63 |
1998 | 81.16 |
1999 | 81.68 |
2000 | 82.23 |
2001 | 83.13 |
2002 | 83.85 |
2003 | 84.07 |
2004 | 84.42 |
2005 | 84.98 |
2006 | 86.51 |
2007 | 87.12 |
2008 | 88.16 |
2009 | 91.68 |
2010 | 96.27 |
2011 | 100.47 |
2012 | 102.83 |
2013 | 105.23 |
2014 | 109.83 |
2015 | 114.05 |
2016 | 116.89 |
2017 | 118.75 |
Average energy consumption of clothes washers, 1990–2017 (kWh/litre)
Model year | Average energy consumption |
---|---|
1990 | 16.75 |
1991 | 15.74 |
1992 | 15.26 |
1993 | 14.18 |
1994 | 12.72 |
1995 | 12.38 |
1996 | 11.83 |
1997 | 11.68 |
1998 | 11.13 |
1999 | 10.53 |
2000 | 10.19 |
2001 | 9.75 |
2002 | 9.29 |
2003 | 8.43 |
2004 | 6.79 |
2005 | 5.22 |
2006 | 4.50 |
2007 | 3.30 |
2008 | 2.97 |
2009 | 2.55 |
2010 | 2.25 |
2011 | 2.07 |
2012 | 2.15 |
2013 | 2.09 |
2014 | 1.86 |
2015 | 1.63 |
2016 | 1.53 |
2017 | 1.18 |
Water consumption
Manufacturers have improved the overall water consumption of clothes washers over the years, which has affected their energy use and led to energy savings.3 Front-loading clothes washers tumble clothes through a small amount of water, which is different from top-loading clothes washers that rub clothes against an agitator in a tub that is full of water. Advanced top-loading washers flip or spin clothes through a reduced stream of water (instead of filling the entire tub).
2005 | 2017 | % Change 2005–2017 |
|
---|---|---|---|
Average water used (litres per cycle) for each litre of tub size | 1.45 | 0.50 | -65.5 |
Distribution of shipments by unit energy consumption
In 1990, all clothes washers consumed at least 600 kWh/yr, and 64% of them consumed 1,000 kWh/yr or more. By 2016, 64% consumed fewer than 200 kWh/yr.

Text version
Distribution of clothes washers by average annual UEC, 1990–2017 (%)
50–99.9 kWh/yr | 100–149.9 kWh/yr | 150–199.9 kWh/yr | 200–299.9 kWh/yr | 300–399.9 kWh/yr | 400–599.9 kWh/yr | 600–999.9 kWh/yr | >1,000 kWh/yr | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 35.7 | 64.3 |
1991 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 34.3 | 65.7 |
1992 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.7 | 77.3 |
1993 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 29.4 | 70.6 |
1994 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 49.7 | 50.3 |
1995 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 55.6 | 44.4 |
1996 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 54.9 | 44.9 |
1997 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 49.4 | 47.9 |
1998 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.6 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 42.6 | 49.6 |
1999 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 61.7 | 26.4 |
2000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 75.3 | 11.4 |
2001 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 4.1 | 0.1 | 79.9 | 3.0 |
2002 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 13.3 | 7.7 | 0.0 | 72.7 | 5.0 |
2003 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 4.7 | 16.8 | 6.8 | 4.3 | 65.6 | 1.6 |
2004 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 8.1 | 18.9 | 8.5 | 19.1 | 45.2 | 0.0 |
2005 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 14.0 | 24.6 | 6.8 | 31.7 | 20.1 | 0.0 |
2006 | 0.0 | 3.3 | 23.5 | 21.3 | 6.4 | 31.2 | 14.2 | 0.0 |
2007 | 0.0 | 5.9 | 32.6 | 16.8 | 15.6 | 26.6 | 2.5 | 0.0 |
2008 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 35.3 | 19.1 | 15.4 | 21.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2009 | 0.0 | 15.9 | 29.1 | 28.2 | 16.2 | 10.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
2010 | 0.6 | 36.9 | 20.0 | 17.6 | 12.1 | 12.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
2011 | 7.0 | 39.8 | 23.2 | 7.7 | 5.3 | 16.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
2012 | 11.5 | 33.4 | 24.7 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 23.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2013 | 20.8 | 24.5 | 22.3 | 6.6 | 0.7 | 25.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2014 | 19.2 | 30.5 | 18.9 | 12.3 | 1.9 | 17.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2015 | 18.0 | 30.3 | 15.7 | 23.9 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2016 | 21.4 | 25.4 | 17.3 | 25.7 | 10.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2017 | 30.0 | 35.2 | 24.3 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
- Test procedures for measuring energy efficiency were updated as a result of amendments to the Energy Efficiency Regulations that came into force in 2017. Test procedure changes for clothes washers included amendments meant to reflect updated research on their frequency of use and on consumer habits. The updated test procedures mean energy consumption figures from 2016 onward are not directly comparable to previous years' data.
- Natural Resources Canada, Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada, 1990–2017 , Table 33.
- Natural Resources Canada, Office of Energy Efficiency, Equipment database.