really boring question about washing machine cycles

[WhereAreMyAirpods]

We are not the typical mumsnet family who wear something for 2 minutes and then wash it. Try to keep washing to a minimum but with 2 adults and three teenagers, all wearing adult sized clothes, there's a lot of washing. The things we are washing are "worn" dirty rather than mucky dirty - no rugby kit or sweaty gym gear or oily overalls, just worn.

Until now I have defaulted to using the 30c cycle on my machine which is a fairly modern Bosch. Takes just over an hour. The "eco" setting on the same programme at 40c takes 2 and a half hours which is quite a while especially when you're trying to get a load done and out to dry on the same day. There is also a rapid option which again washes at 30c but only takes 30 minutes.

So to cut a long story short: what's the best option, the eco long programme, or the short programme? And does it really make a difference, energy and environment-wise?

Generally, eco washes use less water, and less power (by soaking the stuff rather than using hot water and agitating it a lot). But how much difference it makes would really depend on the specifics of your machine's cycles, I'd say.

Can you set a timer to start the machine early in the morning?

Probably, but we are in Scotland and it's very much a "oooh it's a nice day, get the washing done NOW" sort of thing.

Will have to do a bit more googling.

I don't really know where they're coming from with the 'eco' cycles as they're definitely not. We live off grid so I have to be very aware of electricity use and can only use my washing maching on certain cycles. Eco isn't one of them. 30 or 40 degree one hour washes don't strain our solar system nearly as much.

Do you have a smart meter where you can monitor the cost on different cycles?
I agree with previous poster about eco using less water and generally the shorter more intense wash cycles use more energy.

Even when they are only heating the water to 30c?

We do have a smart meter but not the sort with an app which lets you watch usage click up and down.

Do you have the instruction manual for the machine? If so, then it will probably have a table in the back listing the Kw/h of each of the programmes. We have a Bosch and have seen this.
If you have your machine model number you will be able to find a copy of the manual online too.

As others have said, the longer programmes rely on soaking at lower temperatures much more. Basically the two things which use more power are agitation and heating water!

I also couldn't get my head around the fact that a 30 min quick wash might use more energy!

thank you whippet! never thought to look. It does tell me how much my standard programme uses (and I'm wrong it was 40c not 30c) which is 0.41 kWh. But not how much the quick wash uses. Might drop Bosch an email.