Washing Machine Wattage: How Much Power Does Your Washer Really Need?
- How Many Watts Does a Washing Machine Use?
- How to Find Your Washing Machine's Actual Wattage
- Watts vs. Watt-Hours: What Do They Mean?
- How to Calculate How Much Energy Your Laundry Needs
- One Load or a Full Laundry Day?
- Washing Is Only Half the Job: What About Drying?
- What Else Needs Power During an Outage?
- How Much Backup Power Do You Actually Need?
- Not Comfortable With the Math? Use the EcoFlow Power Calculator
- Which EcoFlow Option Fits Your Laundry Needs?
- What Does an Outage Cost Beyond Electricity?
- How to Make Your Backup Power Last Longer on Laundry Day
- Build Your Laundry Backup Plan Before You Need It
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How Much Power Does an All-in-One Washer-Dryer Use?
Modern laundry routines depend heavily on reliable electricity. Just throw your clothes in the washer, add some detergent and some fabric softener, press Start and off you go.
Then the power goes out.
And while you’re doing that, you might have a single load of washing in the washing machine, but three full baskets of dirty laundry to get through. Two kids' school clothes for tomorrow could be waiting in the wash. For a salon, hotel or laundromat, these loads would be part of their daily work.
Knowing your washing machine wattage is the first step in determining how much power your washer needs, how much energy your laundry routine will use, and how much backup power you will need to support your laundry.
How Many Watts Does a Washing Machine Use?
There is no single washing machine wattage for all washers.
Each of the various models of washers is rated differently for electricity usage. In addition, the power required during the various stages of the wash cycle may differ from one stage to another.
Note: The average wattage for a washing machine online does not need to be read and applied for planning backup power for your own washer.
Your machine is the one that matters.
How to Find Your Washing Machine's Actual Wattage
Finding your washer’s wattage does not require a lot of electrical knowledge.
Begin with the appliance label. The electrical specifications for your washer are listed on the appliance label, depending on the model number. This information can be found on the inside of the door, around the door frame, on the underside of the lid or on the back of the washer.
In addition to the appliance label located on the back or side of a washer, for example, the wattage for a specific washer model can also be listed in the owner’s manual or on the manufacturer’s website for that specific washer model.
Long-lost owner’s manual? You can probably find it on the manufacturer’s website. Search the brand and model number in a search engine.
Look for watts first.
If the manufacturer lists watts, use that figure.
If only volts and amps are available, multiply the two to get a rough figure for the electrical load.
Watts ≈ Volts × Amps
For example:
120 V × 5 A = 600 W
This will give you a rough estimate of 600 W, for example.
Using the manufacturer’s rated wattage is best.
Running Watts and Starting Watts Are Not the Same
There is another number to check.
Many appliances such as a washer have different stages of operation during a wash cycle. A washer with a motor, for example, may use more power when the motor starts up or changes to a different stage of the wash cycle. A washer, for example, during a wash cycle may use more power during the spin cycle than during other parts of the wash cycle.
Your washer may be sitting idle in the wash cycle but then suddenly spring into action for a spin cycle.
It’s not good enough for the power station to have lots of energy stored up in the battery; it must also be able to supply enough power to the appliance.
Check these two numbers when the manufacturer provides them:
Running watts: the power needed during normal operation.
Starting watts: The temporary higher demand required by an appliance's motor to start or change operating stages.
Both numbers need to be compared for a washing machine when using backup power.
Watts vs. Watt-Hours: What Do They Mean?
This part can look confusing at first.
It gets easier when you give each number one job.
Watts, or W, show the amount of power an appliance requires to function when it is in operation.
Watt-hours, or Wh, tell you how much energy is used over time.
Ask yourself two separate questions.
Can my power station run my washer?
Look at watts.
How much battery energy will my laundry use?
Look at watt-hours.
Just because your power station can power your washer does not mean it has enough energy to power it for all the loads you have to wash.
If three baskets are waiting, that difference matters.
How to Calculate How Much Energy Your Laundry Needs
Now we can turn those numbers into something you can use.
Start with four pieces of information:
1. Your washer's running wattage
2. Its starting wattage, if available
3. The energy used by one cycle
4. The number of loads you need to wash
Suppose one complete cycle uses 400Wh.
The 400Wh of energy for each wash cycle was a sample figure. The actual amount of energy used by your washer depends on the model of the washer, the wash cycle, the water temperature and the washer settings.
The math looks like this:
1 load = 400Wh
3 loads = 1,200Wh
6 loads = 2,400Wh
Someone living alone may look at six loads and decide that most of them can wait until the power comes back.
A parent with several children may look at six loads and say that is about the amount of laundry that they do in a few days.
A salon owner would likely need to wash several loads of towels prior to the clients arriving in the morning.
Same washing machine wattage.Different amount of energy needed.
How Many Loads Do You Need to Wash?
This question is just as important as washer wattage itself.Count how many loads you normally wash per day or week.Then think about an outage.
How many could wait?
How many could not?
Suppose you normally wash six loads each week.
As a single person, you may find that you are able to put off washing a large proportion of your laundry items during a short power cut.
With three young children at home, clean school clothes, underwear, towels and bedding will likely take precedence.
For example, a hairstylist may determine that they need four loads of towels to be washed before they open for business the next morning.
Laundromats also have special problems in relation to this question. The time when machines are running and therefore need to be working is for long periods each day. An outage will result in a long period of loss of business.
Do not calculate for an average household.
Calculate for yours.
One Load or a Full Laundry Day?
Think about an older adult living alone.An 80+ year old senior citizen living alone does about 2 loads of laundry per week. The loss of power for 1 day (starting Tuesday morning) will not pose a problem for her, as she will have enough clean laundry (and towels) for Wednesday.
Now picture a family of five during a longer outage.The first day is manageable.By the next day, one child’s school clothes need to be washed and put on. The last clean bath towel has been used. Another basket of dirty laundry is being filled. The electricity is still off.Laundry has moved higher on the list.
Waiting is not an option for businesses. They require towels, linens, cloths, and uniforms for their work. Businesses like salons, small hotels, cleaning companies, and laundromats are examples of this.
The wattage of the laundry machine remains the constant in all of the above scenarios.
The number of cycles and the reason for doing them have changed.
Washing Is Only Half the Job: What About Drying?
On a sunny July afternoon, the answer may be easy.Hang the clothes outside.The washer is running on battery power, but the clothesline isn’t using any power.
January can tell a different story.-15° C. A snow-covered yard. Wet towels in the washer. No place to hang them to dry.Having been able to wash the towels is only half the problem solved.You may need the dryer too.
Use the specifications for your appliances instead of using the average online power rating for washers and dryers to get a more accurate assessment of your laundry power needs.
Your washing machine wattage does not change with the season. Your total laundry power needs can.
What If You Have an All-in-One Washer-Dryer?
An all-in-one washer-dryer needs its own calculation.
Some washer/dryers are plugged into a standard 120V outlet. However, the voltage does not indicate the amount of energy that will be used by the washer/dryer.
The drying time for an all-in-one washer-dryer can be significantly longer for a full wash-and-dry cycle.
This may apply to someone who does a load of laundry before bed and wakes up to a clean, dry load of laundry.
While the washer/dryer is operating on grid power, it can operate for hours.
Those same hours will use up a large amount of energy from your stored energy during the outage.
Check the voltage, amperage, rated wattage, energy use per cycle and full wash-and-dry cycle time for your specific model of an all-in-one washer-dryer.
What Else Needs Power During an Outage?
The washer does not live alone in your house.
The refrigerator is still keeping food cold.
The freezer may hold hundreds of dollars in groceries.
In addition to the other devices listed above, a homeowner will also require power to charge their phones, access Wi-Fi, and turn on lights for the evening.
Businesses would have a long list of devices that require power during the day and therefore would also require backup power during an outage. Examples include computers, payment processing equipment, office lighting, and laundry equipment.Then the outage happens.The refrigerator, washer, lights, phones, router, etc. all use energy during an outage.They are all using energy.
This is why, when planning for a battery backup for home, more than one appliance needs to be taken into account.
How Much Backup Power Do You Actually Need?
You now have enough information to start calculating how much power you actually need to back up.
Ask yourself:
How many loads do I need to wash?
How much energy does each cycle use?
Will I need the dryer?
What other appliances need electricity?
Which appliances might run at the same time?
How long could I be without grid power?
Can I recharge the battery while the electricity is off?
That last question can change your calculation.
A salon washing four loads of towels in one day has less time between cycles.
A laundromat with several washers would need to calculate their laundry power requirements also.
Your emergency backup power requirements will depend on how many appliances you want to run, and for how long you want to run them.
Not Comfortable With the Math? Use the EcoFlow Power Calculator
Now you know the power (wattage) for your washing machine, but then there is the issue of volts, amps, watts, and even watt-hours.
You have another option.The EcoFlow Power Calculator allows you to enter the household appliances you have listed above, and it will calculate the total electrical needs of all of the appliances listed.
Maybe your list is simply:
Washer
Dryer
Refrigerator
Wi-Fi
Lights
List the appliances in your household, along with their corresponding usage information.
The EcoFlow Power Calculator estimates the power usage for each appliance and adds up the total amount of power usage for all the appliances in your household. The calculator only provides an approximate amount of power usage for each appliance.
That can help before you start comparing battery sizes.
Which EcoFlow Option Fits Your Laundry Needs?
Now the product numbers have some context.
You know your washer’s wattage. You know about how many loads you will need to do. You have thought about drying, other appliances that you will be powering, the length of the outage, and how many times you will be able to recharge your power station.
Now that you know the number of loads you need to wash and the power your washer uses, you can compare your needs to the requirements of the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Series.
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max Plus
The EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max Plus is equipped with a 2,048 Wh rated capacity, 3,000 W AC output, and 6,000 W peak output. The DELTA 3 Max Plus has an expandable capacity of up to 10 kWh. The X-Boost feature on the DELTA 3 Max Plus supports up to 3,800 W of power for connected appliances.
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max Plus (2,048 Wh, 3,000 W AC, 6,000 W Peak, up to 10 kWh capacity, 3,800 W X-Boost) will be suitable for a family with a few loads of laundry to do during the outage, but also with priority items to keep cold and to recharge their phones.
The washer is part of the plan. It is not the whole plan.
Add the energy needed by the appliances you plan to use and compare that total with the available battery capacity.
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra Plus
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra Plus (3,072Wh, 3,600W, 7,200W) - up to 4,600W with X-Boost and can be expanded up to 11kWh.
A better starting point for the household with greater electrical needs (several laundry cycles and high-power appliances) would be the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra Plus.
The family doing several loads during a winter outage.
The washer needs power, the dryer needs power, the food in the fridge needs to be kept cold, and the family’s phones need to be charged.
For businesses using several commercial-grade machines for backup power during an outage, look beyond a portable power station for a solution. Calculate the total power required by all machines that are to operate at the same time, and then calculate the number of hours of operation that are to be provided by the backup power solution.
Do not assume one portable power station can support a commercial laundry setup simply because it can run one washer. Add up the electrical requirements of all equipment that may operate together and how long it needs to run.
What Does an Outage Cost Beyond Electricity?
A backup power system has a purchase price.Managing without electricity can cost money too.
Picture our family of five again.The 2-day outage is getting to the point where the family’s laundry is becoming a mountain of dirty clothes. And as luck would have it, the local laundromat is experiencing the same outage as the family’s home.
The family manages to find another laundromat in town.Someone has to drive there. Gas for the car. Then there are the costs of the machines to wash and dry, and the time to wait for each wash and dry cycle.
This means every time the power goes out again, they have to go back to the laundromat.
Hours of work can also be lost because a business cannot function while a power outage is in place.
This doesn’t mean that every household needs a big battery.The price on the product page is only one part of the decision.
Think about what you need to keep doing when the grid is down.This could mean for your household to keep food cold and washing one load of clothes.
This can be to get a family through several days at home.For a business, the priority will be to allow some of their normal work to be done.
How to Make Your Backup Power Last Longer on Laundry Day
Start with the loads that cannot wait.Dirty sheets in the bedding basket can wait another day for washing, if you have enough clean clothes for tomorrow.
Run full loads when it makes sense.Use cold-water or energy-saving wash programs where suitable for the items being washed.A good spin cycle can help remove a lot of water from clothes before they go in the dryer. Clothes that have been spun well will be lighter and therefore use less energy when being dried.
Be aware of which appliances are running at the same time.And check the weather before pressing Start.A free dryer in the backyard on a sunny summer afternoon is far better than recharging your EcoFlow system in the middle of January to do a wash of less important items, only to find that the dryer also uses power.
However, if a long power cut is forecast, charge up the battery to its maximum capacity before it starts to drain too low. How you recharge it will depend on your EcoFlow system and appliances.
Build Your Laundry Backup Plan Before You Need It
Finding your washing machine wattage takes a few minutes.
The washing machine’s wattage is stated on the label, in the user manual, or on the manufacturer’s website by searching for the model number of your machine.
The number of people in a household can affect how often laundry needs to be washed and can also affect how long laundry can be put off. Many people live alone, but some live with family members or even run a salon from their home.
There are several ways in which laundry will need to be done during the summer months, but it will be restricted in the winter months; for example, summer months will enable the use of outside space and allow clothes to be hung out to dry, whereas in winter months, a dryer may be needed to dry clothes. Then there is everything outside the laundry room.
Food in the fridge and freezer. Lights. Phones. Internet. Equipment needed for work.
After determining which appliances will need to be run during a power outage, determine which of the backup power options will be the best for your specific needs.That can also change how you see the purchase.
A home power station is usually ignored until the day it is needed. During an outage, its practical value becomes much easier to see. Running your home laundry. Keeping food cold instead of having it spoil. Running part of your business while the rest of the grid is down.
The value is different for every household.Start with your washing machine wattage.Calculate all other power needs outside of the laundry room as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Watts Does a Washing Machine Use per Hour?
Watts represent the power of a washing machine and not the amount of energy that is required for a 1-hour wash cycle. Every washing machine model requires a different amount of power, and often the amount of power required varies between the different wash cycle stages of a single washing machine.
This information can be found on the appliance label, in the appliance’s owner’s manual, or on the manufacturer’s website. Using the information for volts and amps provided on the label, you can multiply the volts by the amps to obtain an approximate value for the appliance’s electrical load. The best information to use for the appliance’s wattage is that provided by the manufacturer for that appliance.
Can a 2,000-Watt Generator Run a Washing Machine?
It depends on the washer.Note that, again, the wattage of your generator must be compared to the running and start-up wattage of your washer. As an example, a 2,000W generator would not be able to power every washing machine, let alone for extended periods of time.
How Many Starting Watts Does a Washing Machine Need?
There is no single starting wattage for every washer.This is also the case for different washers, which can have different motor designs. More importantly, though, the wash cycles go through different operating stages (e.g., fill, wash, empty, rinse, spin), and the required starting power will be different for each of these. The manufacturer’s specifications for starting power (if available) for the required number of appliances (e.g., washer and dryer) for normal operation and for any temporary higher demand for power would thus have to be added together.
Can a Portable Power Station Run a Washing Machine?
Yes, if the portable power station can provide the washer's required starting and running watts and has enough stored energy to complete the required wash cycles.Note that other appliances may also be using energy from the same battery.
Can a Portable Power Station Run a Washer and Dryer?
It can, depending on the specifications of the washer, dryer, and power station. An electric dryer can use much more power than a washing machine.
For washer/dryer pairs, all-in-one or separate, compare the power requirements with the power station's output and battery capacity. If the washer and dryer may operate at the same time, their combined power requirements also need to be considered.
How Much Electricity Does One Washing Machine Cycle Use?
This can be calculated by reference to the energy use per wash cycle as supplied by the manufacturer of the washer and then multiplied by the number of washes planned to be done.
How Much Power Does an All-in-One Washer-Dryer Use?
It depends on the model and program.The energy consumption for the washer-dryer would be multiplied by the number of wash-and-dry cycles. Refer to the manufacturer’s specification for the complete wash-and-dry cycle of the fully loaded washer-dryer. This would include rated power in watts and energy in Wh for a single wash-and-dry cycle. The fact that the washer-dryer is connected via a 120V connection does not determine the amount of battery energy required for the complete wash-and-dry cycle, which can last for hours.