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[–] 54 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Newer machines are several times more water and energy efficient.

Still nice that they lasted long and were easier to repair.

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  • [–] 47 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    More water and energy efficient to run, yes. If you have to replace them every couple of years the resources used to make new ones need to be included too though, and that will have a big impact on the comparison. That said, I have had a modern front load pair for at least 5 years now, no issues.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    In the 2008 economic slump, the U.K. had something called a “car scrappage scheme”. Shit was the most wasteful thing ever. Also saw really cool classics cubed.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    USA had the same thing, "Cash for Clunkers". Some of the cars we were better off getting rid of. Some of them not, whether because they were rare or classic, or old but still more fuel efficient than a truck or SUV. Sure increased the average price of a used car though.

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

    Efficiency does little for your wallet and the environment if you need to buy/produce a new machine every few years.

    (Not to say that we shouldn't strive for efficiency.)

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago

    That's the same way i look at it. How much energy is involved in building a new washing machine? How much energy is spent scrapping it? So much waste. I recently had a run of energy-efficient washing machines that all had the same problem with the main CPU board. In 2 weeks i had 4 instances all come out of the woodwork. Only 1 opted for the repair but it cost them almost as much as a new washer. The rest got scrapped. These washers were all about 2 years old when i witnessed this phenomenon (and I ran into yet another one just a couple weeks ago)... Other techs online are sharing similar reports.

    Not only are they over-engineering the fuck out of these things for "energy efficiency" which i swear is just an umbrella they use to cover their real goals--to make appliances less user and tech friendly. They want their guys selling their overpriced junk and bespoke computers/sensors/gizmos so they can extract every last cent of value out of the product, then try to sell you another one every 3-5 years almost like leasing a car.

    Still, that doesn't mean the tech used to extract greater efficiency is a bad idea -- it's all the approach they take to get there. They're making the cheapest tech possible while trying to sell it for the most $. These digital electronics they design to handle the various functions that give them such energy efficiency are often made with design flaws that aren't worked out before release and/or they're made with the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel components and/or manufacturing standards. If they wanted to make nearly-indestructible computers and sensors and transmissions and motors they absolutely could. They could even make them extremely energy efficient as well, but it's simply not gonna happen.

    Energy efficiency is a valid goal, but if that's really what they're going for they need to make some major changes to the way they're approaching it. The engineers in these companies are too smart for this to be the best they can do.

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