Does the dryer function on dishwasher use that much electricity?

Question

Whenever my relatives come over and see that the dishwasher has reached the drying function, they always open the dishwasher to shut it off to air dry. They claim this saves substantial energy. Now, I don't mind this too much in the winter since the steam is added to otherwise, slightly dry air, but it annoys me in the heat of July. While I acknowledge that air drying is probably cheaper, does the dishwasher actually use that much energy in drying? I've personally never noticed any difference in the electric bill drying or not drying.

Answer 1

By opening the dishwasher and turning off the drying function, you are doing 2 things. a) you are air drying instead of heat drying, thus saving electricity, b) you are not heating the inside of the home and the air conditioner doesn't have to fight it, thus saving more electricity.

Even if the dishwasher isn't open, the heat still dissipates into the house. It's just slower and you don't get a rush of warm, moist air, so you may not feel it on your skin. It is pretty much the same to the air conditioner, if you have one.

And you can only notice a difference in the electric bill if you keep everything else the same (including the weather) or do some complicated statistical calculations. Unless, of course, you do something radically different, like get a high efficiciency appliance, the savings are not likely to be huge.