Geek is where you find it. Tonight, geek can be found while shopping for washing machines. That’s right, clothes washers. Washing machines are one of those technologies that we totally take for granted… until they break. Like this morning when our not-so-trusty Maytag overflowed all over the laundry room floor (again). So I’m out looking. And from what I’ve seen, the technology in today’s washing machines makes yesterday’s units look like washboards…

Energy-efficiency tops the list. An efficient modern clothes washer costs only a fraction of what it costs to run a old clunker.

From the federal government Energy Star Web site:

• Through superior design and system features, ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers clean clothes using 50% less energy than standard washers. The Modified Energy Factor (MEF)
  measures the energy used during the washing process, including machine energy, water heating energy, and dryer energy. The higher the MEF, the more efficient the clothes washer is.
• Most full-sized ENERGY STAR qualified washers use 18-25 gallons of water per load, compared to the 40 gallons used by a standard machine. The Water Factor measures the gallons of water used per cycle per cubic foot (for example, a 3.0 cubic foot washer using 27 gallons per cycle has a water factor of 9.0). The lower the water factor, the less water the machine uses.

I was frustrated after a real-world trip to Lowes. Those bright yellow Energy Star stickers were hard to find. And to think, the last time I remember shopping for major appliances, the stickers were prominently displayed.

When I came home, I did a good bit of comparative shopping on the Sears website (where the Energy Star ratings are just a click away) and was amazed at the energy-efficiency of the new crop of washing machines.

We’re leaning towards a front-loading model, but we need to keep the cost down. Eliminating a bunch of the bells and whistles is okay with me… hey, I don’t really need a touch-screen LCD… I always figure that the less gizmos the less chance that something can go wrong.

I recall reading that the recent Energy Bill includes tax rebates for energy-efficient appliances, starting in January. If that’s indeed the case - and the rebates are worthwhile - we might try to wait it out for a couple of months.

Of course, the washing machine is only one half of the equation. When I hunted for Energy Star information on clothes dryers, I came up dry, with the exception of this quote:

ENERGY STAR does not label clothes dryers because most dryers use similar amounts of energy.

I have faith. The good folks at Iowa State are on the case.