Energy Star dishwashers have advanced features such as sensors that calculate the required length of washing cycles and the appropriate water temperature to properly clean each load. Other Energy Star features include built in heating elements that help save on the cost of heating the water. The following requirements determined by Natural Resources Canada need to be meet for a dishwasher to qualify for the Energy Star label
- a dishwasher has to be among the top 25 percent of energy performers on the market
- compact dishwashers can now qualify for the Energy Star label
- as of August 11, 2009, standard and compact dishwashers must have a total annual energy consumption of less than 324 kWh/year for standard size models and less than 234 kWh/year for compact models and a maximum water usage of 21.96 litres per cycle for standard size models and 15.14 litres for compact size models to qualify for the Energy Star label
- as of July 1, 2011, standard and compact dishwashers must have a total annual energy consumption of less than 307 kWh/year for standard size models and less than 222 kWh/year for compact models and a maximum water usage of 18.93 litres per cycle for standard size models and 13.25 for compact size models to qualify for the Energy Star label
