[ExI] big rip in washing machines

Fri Mar 8 01:24:59 UTC 2019

Heh.

As if on cue, an article appears which tells the same story I experienced:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-inefficiency-of-efficiency-appliance-standards-often-cost-more-than-they-save

If anything this understates the case.  These “high efficiency” washing machines do use more power in exchange for using only a little less water.  If one is up on the highest tier, power is very expensive.

Here’s a funny one to along with it.  Until fairly recently, California was in an extended drought.  The voters agreed to a water rate hike to act as an encouragement to save water.  A lot of people took out their lawns and put in low water toilets and such (which are a pain in themselves.)  I didn’t do anything, so my water bill doubled plus a little.

When the rains came a couple years ago, there was no more water crisis, but they didn’t reduce the water rates to the previous level.  The water delivery was no more expensive during the drought than it was afterwards.  They didn’t need to hire more people just because the snow pack was dwindling.  They charged more the encourage conservation.  So now, when we have plenty of water and need to throw it into the sea to prevent overtopping the dams, the higher rate structure is still in place.

Now the appliance makers can make another round of profits by marketing features to defeat the water-saving features they profited from adding during the drought.

spike

From: spike at rainier66.com <spike at rainier66.com> 
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2019 10:13 AM
To: 'ExI chat list' <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Cc: 'spike at rainier66.com' <spike at rainier66.com>
Subject: big rip in washing machines

In our world today, it is not necessary that one have a sensa huma.  But it helps.

I had to laugh today.  We bought a washing machine about 5 yrs ago which was the latest thing: it was designed with feedback loops to measure water levels with the goal in mind of conserving water.  Great marketing feature in California, as we were in the depths of a multi-year drought.  There were people accepting the notion that it was all global warming and it would never rain again and all kinds of silly extremism.  The state offered incentives to manufacturers for selling these water-stingy machines.  We bought one, being typical suckers.

A coupla years ago, we had a really wet season and the reservoir behind an enormous earthen dam rose quickly.  The Oroville authorities were reluctant to dump the water thru the spillways (because water is valuable stuff (and everybody knew the rains would stop.))  The rains kept coming, and by the time the dam authorities opened up the dam flood gates, it was too dam late, and the water rose to overtop the emergency spillway, which hadn’t been properly maintained because it wasn’t going to be used.  Until it was.  And it failed.  That clapping sound you heard was buttholes slamming shut everywhere in California, for if that dam failed, goodbye town of Oroville and everything downstream, and goodbye water supply for much of California.  

It held, and has been repaired.  OK so now we are having another record-breaking wet year.  The Sierras have ski resorts which could not open in years past because there wasn’t enough snow.  This year some of them cannot open because they can’t shovel out the ski lifts which are buried in snow.

We didn’t like water-stingy washing machine.  There wasn’t enough control over that feature.  We had loads of clothing where we found places that had never gotten wet.  If it didn’t get wet, it didn’t get clean.  Being a typical geek engineer, I did some calculations on how much we saved by this machine, but I noticed it also uses more power at the expense of using less water.  Well… power is expensive, water is cheap.  These so-called high-efficiency machines save a little water at the expense of using more power (because the cycle lasts longer (which is also a negative.))

Sunday the thing conked.  Rather than mess with it, my bride suggested replacing it.  I concurred, so she picked one, didn’t mention further why that one or what she picked.  The lads delivered it about an hour ago.  It is similar to the previous one but with a new feature: it allows one to defeat the water-saving feature.  A big sticker on the top of the machine in inch-tall all-caps proclaims:

YOU CAN USE AS MUCH WATER AS YOU WANT.

Under that sales pitch:

Flexible water features put YOU in control.

I had to laugh at our own silliness.  California consumers bought up water-saver washers, now we are buying up washers that give us the option of defeating the water saver feature.

spike

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