Any care home manager will know the challenge of balancing hygiene with the reality of rising utility bills. But when it comes to laundry, there’s no room for compromise: commercial washing machines are vital for disinfecting clothes, bed sheets and towels, and are a critical part of your infection control strategy. So is there any way they can cut energy use and save you money, too?
In this post, we break down the running costs and efficiency of a JLA SMART washing machine, and show how one could help.
What is JLA’s SMART technology?
In a nutshell, JLA’s SMART washing machine technology uses special sensors and other innovations to calculate exactly how much water, power and detergent a cycle will need to clean your laundry load. This process optimises water, energy and detergent consumption, and helps to save you time and money from wash to wash.
How does a JLA SMART washer compare to a standard model?
To help illustrate how much energy a SMART washer could save in your laundry room, we compared two popular commercial models: the JLA 40 washing machine, and the JLA 40 SMART washing machine.
Both models were run for ten cycles, simulating their daily usage. And for an extra layer of realism, we used towels instead of bedding to make sure our results more closely reflected how the washers might perform in real life.
SMART savings: our key headlines
Using reasonable energy pricing assumptions of 0.499p/kWh per electricity, 0.24989p/kWh for gas, and 0.001456 pence/litre for water, these were our findings.
A 67% reduction in water costs
The JLA 40 SMART washing machine used 96.4 litres of water less per day (47%) compared to our standard model, which equates to a 67% decrease in water costs, or a saving of 32 pence every 10 washes.
A 33% decrease in electricity costs
JLA’s SMART 40 washing machine used 33% less electricity than its standard counterpart, saving 0.96 kW of electricity per day. Based on 10 loads in a day, this adds up to a saving of 48p per SMART machine, per wash, or £4.79 per day.
Detergent and softener savings
Versus our standard JLA 40, the JLA 40 SMART washer used much less detergent and softener, delivering 77% and 32% savings respectively. This comes out a 40p pence saving on detergent costs, and a 6p reduction for softener, over 10 washes.
Detergent and softener savings
Versus our standard JLA 40, the JLA 40 SMART washer used much less detergent and softener, delivering 77% and 32% savings respectively. This comes out a 40p pence saving on detergent costs, and a 6p reduction for softener, over 10 washes.
A 48% reduction in overall costs
Totted up, the SMART washer’s savings across water, electricity, detergent, and softener resulted in a 48% reduction in the total wash cycle cost, down to just £1.25 per cycle.
Spread these savings across a year, and your care home could save £1,748.50 by making the switch to a SMART washing machine. Across five years, that amounts to an impressive £8,742.48.
For more about the ways SMART washing machines could reduce your energy consumption while helping you decarbonise your laundry room, speak to our experts today.
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