No word of a lie, the day I got a dishwasher was one of the best days of my life. I hate washing up, so having a machine to do it for me was (and still is) the dream. Now once I’ve finished cooking and eating, everything goes into the magic cupboard and it comes out clean 1 hour later. The only issue you might be concerned about is electricity and power consumption.
Below we will discuss and test dishwasher wattage, explain how to work it out for yourself, and calculate the total electricity required.
How Many Watts is a Dishwasher?
A dishwasher draws a peak of between 1200 and 2000 watts. While the average running power is around 300 to 800 watts.
The exact number depends on the size and model of your dishwasher. For example, a small economy machine might use upto 1200W, while larger units draw 2000W or more at their peak.
The overall power usage of your dishwasher comes down to its size and efficiency. Generally, large machines will have a higher peak running consumption and use more energy to complete a cycle. This is because it is required to heat a large volume of water and run bigger internal components.
When we talk about dishwasher wattage you should know that it will rise and fall throughout a washing cycle. It doesn’t have a stable continuous number. When heating up it will use more power than when rinsing.
This means you should look at several readings to get a full picture, this includes:
- Peak Running Watts – The highest power level it can reach.
- Average Running Watts – The average power it draws during a cycle.
- Total Energy Usage – How many kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity it uses to complete a whole cycle.
How to Find Out Your Dishwasher Wattage
There’s 3 ways you can work out the wattage of a dishwasher.
- Check Product Specification
The quickest way is to look at the dishwasher’s specification. The watts (W) is usually written on a sticker on the base of the appliance. If not, you can check the user manual or the manufacturer’s website for technical details.
- Use a Wattmeter
A wattmeter is brilliant for getting a live wattage reading and tracking total energy usage of any appliance. You can simply plug it into your dishwasher to get instant information.
I used one to test my dishwasher which gave a live reading of 1987W when heating up.
- Wattage Formula or Calculator
If you know the amperage and voltage of your dishwasher you can use this to find the maximum watt rating. Simply use the formula Amps x Volts = Watts. Or you can head over to the ‘Watt Calculator’ to work this out.
Dishwasher Wattage Examples
Let’s take a look at specific examples of how many watts a dishwasher draws. Below is a collection of modern dishwashers with their listed power ratings.
| Dishwasher Model | *Average Running Power (Watts) |
| Fisher & Paykel – DD24DDFTB9 | 335 |
| Miele – G 6880 SCVi | 462.5 |
| Fisher & Paykel – DD24DTX6PX1 | 470 |
| Crosley – CDB900 | 535 |
| Danby – DDW1804EBSS | 544 |
| Miele – G 7366 SCVi | 544 |
| Comfee – CDC22P1 | 472 |
| Magic Chef – MCSCD6W5 | 472 |
| Whynter – CDW-6831WES | 472 |
| Beko – DDS25842 | 510 |
*Power usage based on 2 hours runtime per cycle.
As you can see, the power ratings vary between different dishwashers. So you should take the time to check your own appliance.
How Much Electricity Does a Dishwasher Use?
You can use dishwasher wattage to work out how much electricity it uses. Plus this can be useful in understanding how much it costs to run your dishwasher.
A watt (W) is a measurement of power at a single point in time. A watt-hour (Wh) is the total amount of electricity used in an hour. For example, a dishwasher drawing an average of 500W would use 500Wh when running for an hour.
Happily, electricity bills are recorded in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kilowatt is simply 1000 watts. So a 500W dishwasher running for 1 hour uses 0.5kWh.
In reality, you use a dishwasher 4 times a week for 2 hours at a time. This means a dishwasher uses about 4000Wh or 4kWh electricity a week. That’s 17.2kWh a month and 206kWh a year.
That’s a rough electricity cost of $31 a year to run your dishwasher 4 times a week.
Using a Dishwasher Off-Grid
If you’re planning to use your dishwasher in an off-grid situation like a power outage, RV, boat, or similar, the information above is important. You can select and install the correct electrical equipment, plus work out the runtime.
You can either use a power inverter, portable power station, or generator to produce AC electricity.
To make sure everything runs smoothly you should check two things on this equipment – wattage capacity and total energy capacity.
Your power source, like an inverter, should have a wattage capacity of at least 20% more than your dishwasher. This ensures it will be able to deliver enough power as they are never 100% efficient. To wash your dishes, it is best to have at least 2000W of power capacity.
Secondly, you need to ensure your energy source, like a battery, has enough energy to run the dishwasher for the required amount of time. As we already know, it will use about 1000Wh electricity for each 2 hour cycle. This is the equivalent to 41.6Ah on a 12V battery.
How Many Watts Does a Dishwasher Use Summary
I hope you now have a clear understanding of how many watts a dishwasher uses.
Looking at the power consumption of these devices can be confusing. Manufacturers only tend to give you an estimate of total energy consumption per year. If you need to use equipment like a power inverter, the peak and running wattage is far more important. The best way to get an accurate reading for your device is with a wattmeter. You will find the peak running watts is well over a thousand, while the average is nearer to 500W over a whole washing cycle.
