this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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My dishwasher automatically selects it's Eco program when powered on. The Eco program uses more water and more energy than the Auto program while also taking almost twice as long. So I have an automation that triggers when my dishwasher is powered on and then selects the Auto program for me - because pressing a button to change the program after loading the dishwasher would be too much to ask.
If it uses more water and more energy, what exactly is "eco" about it?
@pfr @homeassistant just remember that this machine needs to clean it's pipes too, just using chemicals for that won't do very well i guess. I'm not saying that this is logical (making this eco mode) but using more electricity for hot water and using more water (for not reusing too much water all over again) is probably the sweet spot for lasting much longer. Which in turn is not in the interest of the company selling these machines. I guess.
Thanks for that. Now I need a new dishwasher.
@EarMaster
Sensing some confusion out there.
ECO mode, exactly as the name implies, uses less water and less energy.
https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/laundry-and-cleaning/washing-machines/articles/eco-function-buttons
@EarMaster
Under some specific circumstances AUTO might be more economic but that would be the exception rather than a rule.
It is for me. The user manual states how much water and energy is used for each program. For the Auto program a range is given. The water consumption of the Eco program is almost identical to the worst value of the Auto program. I can measure the power consumption using a smart plug and I know that - at least for my dishes - the Auto program uses less energy than the Eco program.
How did you measure the water going through? Did you hook up an in-line flow meter to the dishwasher? I would be interested to know if my Bosch dishwasher is the same way because I always use Eco.
I can only measure the electricity directly. For the water consumption I rely on the values provided by the user manual.
I am well aware that Eco is supposed to be - well - more economic and maybe eco-friendly, but everything I read and could measure about my specific model indicate the opposite.
@JustEnoughDucks @EarMaster I'm not the original poster. I have seen lab test results supporting the LOWER water usage claim in ECO for common devices.
According to my own monitoring via smartplug, my own dishwasher uses about a 20 to 30% less electrical energy when in ECO mode as opposed to AUTO mode. It is a Bauknecht, which is likely very similar to your Bosch device in many ways (Bosch, Siemens, Bauknecht household devices all being manufactured by the same company...).