Opinion is divided. Some believe using a dishwasher can save lots of energy, some claim that sticking to hand washing will cut your bills. But who can you trust, what is the real truth?

Dishwashers on average use about as much energy as a tumble dryer - this does not seem so bad. Unfortunately, this is one thousand kilowatt hours every year - pretty significant.

When you compare this to running a bowl full of hot water to do the washing up by hand, common sense tells you that surely this is the better option. Well... yes and no.

In the worst cases, dishwashers are far less efficient than washing by hand, and this is probably why some people stick rigidly to this side of the argument. The truth however is than most modern dishwashers are designed with energy usage in mind. Energy efficieny ratings were introduced for electrical appliances - and it is now very common for dishwashers to rated 'A'. Manufacturers produce to 'A' specifications, as this is what is becoming popular with buyers. These energy efficient dishwashers are again far better in terms of energy usage than older models which were never designed for this purpose.

So, the real question is, how do these modern day dishwashers fare against washing by hand? In reality, it depends. If you use your dishwasher every day, regardless of how full it is - you would probably be better off washing by hand. But, the environment conscious user will use less energy than washing by hand. This means only washing full loads with an 'A' rated machine.

Further energy can be saved by using the shortest cycle available, and not using the dishwasher's heater, but instead air drying. Add to this the fact that dishes will be hygienically cleaner by far when using a dishwasher, rather than being bathed in dirty dishwater, and the argument for using a dishwasher looks good.