Certified Commercial Dishwashers Now More Efficient Than Ever

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pleased to announce the final version 3.0  ENERGY STAR certified commercial dishwashers specification. This new specification will make certified commercial dishwashers that earn the label 17% more energy efficient, on average.

This specification establishes updated performance levels, including the introduction of a wash energy metric; recognizes products with innovative heat recovery technologies; and aligns with updated industry test methods, terms and definitions.

The new Version 3.0 specification captures wash and idle energy, as well as water consumption as part of the certification process. ENERGY STAR also introduced a unique additional energy credit for heat recovery machines. This technology allows for the recirculation of energy through direct heat transfer. The energy used in a wash cycle is recirculated to heat the fresh incoming potable rinse water for the next wash cycle. This allows for a lower building supply temperature, which saves on total energy. Additionally, in most cases, heat recovery dish machines do not require a dedicated ventilation hood, which allows for even more energy and dollar savings. Commercial dishwashers that earn the ENERGY STAR are also NSF certified, which means they pass a sanitization test, in addition to achieving optimal levels of energy efficiency.

If all commercial dishwashers sold in the United States were ENERGY STAR certified to Version 3.0, the energy cost savings would grow to more than $230 million each year, and more than 4.3 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented.