Washing Machine is a power-hungry appliance and contributes a lot to your inflated monthly electricity bill.
Most Indian household has a washing machine as nowadays it comes under a must-have basic appliance category. Most people keep washing machines at least for 5 years as we need to make a good amount of investment to buy a nice washing machine.
But how about the inflated electricity bill that we are paying every month due to the use of conventional washing machines?
Manufacturers thought about this issue and they came up with a technology called Inverter Technology that claims to save up to 40% power over conventional washing machines.
So, in this article, let’s learn about Inverter vs. non-inverter Washing Machines so that you get an idea about how inverter washing machines can be very cost-effective to run.
What Is Inverter Technology In Washing Machines?
First of all, let me clear the confusion that inverter technology has nothing to do with the power inverter. Your inverter washing machine won’t work when there is a power cut. For that, you need to buy a washing machine that supports a power inverter and you need to buy a power inverter separately.
Inverter Technology In Washing Machine is meant to save power. This technology can save up to 40% power depending on how the technology is tailored for your washing machine.
Inverter technology in washing machines uses a variable-speed BLDC motor that adjusts the motor speed based on the wash load. If the load is more, the motor will run faster and vice versa. For example, if you put fewer clothes in the washing machine, the motor will run slowly and thus save power.
This technology has multiple sensors that capture data like the wash load, level of dirt, type of waster used, type of detergent used, etc., and give the input to the microprocessor that decides the type of wash and cycle based on the algorithm already set in it.
So technically inverter technology has made washing machines smarter so that it can not only save power but offer a plethora of other smart benefits.
Inverter technology is not only used in washing machines but also in refrigerators and air conditioner compressors.
Inverter Vs Non-Inverter Washing Machine
We will differentiate the Inverter and Non-Inverter Washing Machines based on the following criteria so that it is easy for you to decide which one is better for you.
Power Consumption
The main benefit of inverter washing machines is the low power consumption over non-inverter washing machines.
A conventional washing machine uses a single-speed motor that either runs at full speed or shuts down. It does not matter how many clothes you are washing or how dirty your clothes are, the motor will run at a fixed speed based on the cycle you choose.
If you are running your washing machine at full load, then you may not see much difference in power consumption data between the Inverter Vs and inverter Washing Machine but if it is a frequent half-load or quarter-load wash, the difference is very much noticeable.
To give you a clear idea about how much power-saving an inverter washing machine can provide, we have considered the following two washing machines for comparison. One with the inverter technology and the other one has a conventional motor.
Please note that both machines have having 6.5 KG capacity and both are 5-star rated. You will still see a huge difference in power consumption just because of the inverter motor.
Let’s see the power consumption data of the above non-inverter washing machine. For this Whirlpool machine, the rated power is 360 Watts and if you run the machine for one hour per day, your yearly electricity bill will be around Rs 648 considering Rs 5 per unit of electricity.
Now let’s see the data for the IFB inverter washing machine. The rated power of the machine is 220 watts and if you run the machine for the same one hour per pay, your yearly electricity bill will be around Rs 396.
So there is a saving of Rs 252 per year or close to 39% power saving if you use an inverter washing machine. That’s a lot of savings if you are using your washing machine daily.
Noise And Vibration
Most conventional washing machines use belt drives to transfer power from the motor to the washing machine drum. Those belts and pulleys make a lot of noise and vibration.
On the other hand, Inverter washing machines use a direct drive motor that is mounted directly under the drum. Thus making less sound and vibration than conventional washing machines.
Conventional washing machines also face the issue of load balancing due to the shift in the center of gravity. To solve that, it uses counterweight and these become one more source of more noise and vibration.
Durability
Inverter washing machines are more durable as there is less number of moving parts due to the use of direct-drive motors.
Conventional washing machines have belts and pulleys that are prone to failure within a few years of usage. Also, there is a power loss due to power transfer from the motor to the drum. More vibration makes conventional washing machines vulnerable to failure.
Wash Performance
Inverter washing machines are known for better wash performance as each and everything is decided by the washing machine microprocessor.
The machine can decide the best washing cycle based on the load, type of water, level of dirtiness, and numerous other parameters. You will always get the best possible wash from inverter washing machines.
Due to variable speed motors, inverter washing machines can customize the rotation of drums and offer different wash cycle features tailored to different types of clothes.
Brands like Samsung claim that a DDM motor is up to 5 times faster than conventional ones and consumes 40 percent less power.
Conventional washing machine misses out on all these smart features and purely depend on consumers’ input to get the best out of them. In one way, it is good as consumers have full control but many consumers do not know how to get the best out of a washing machine.
Cost
The initial investment is a little high for an inverter washing machine. If you take the above example, the IFB inverter washing machine is almost Rs 2850 costlier than the Whirlpool non-inverter washing machine. That is about 20% extra that you need to pay for an inverter washing machine.
But, remember that you are saving around 40% power bill every month against paying 20% extra on an inverter washing machine.
So if you are keeping your washing machine for the long term, the extra cost can be easily recovered within a few years.
Conclusion: Inverter Washing Machine Vs Non Inverter Washing Machine
Inverter technology is the future. It brings a lot of opportunities for engineers to make appliances more smarter than before.
Power consumption is just one major benefit of the inverter technology. We can not ignore the other technological advantages that inverter technology brought to this appliance domain.
