[Taf]

When the anti-Legionnaire's Disease regs came out, home boilers had to be set to 60c. That would play havoc being fed into a washing machine that was set to wash clothes at 40c or lower.

So manufactures removed the "hot fill" inlet, and "cold fill only" became the norm. That added electricity costs to the machines, as their internal heaters would be used more often. And that, of course, dropped the efficiency rating.

Moves towards "direct drive" motors also happened, and they are more efficient than the old belt-drive ones. Our 8-year-old Samsung came with a 5-year warranty, and a 10-year warranty on the motor.

Then technology allowed less water to be used, such as Samsung's Eco-Bubble method. That increased efficiency both in electricity and water use.

Faster spin speeds added to power costs, but reduced costs for drying in the machine. So if you dry outdoors on a line or in a machine, the laundry dries quicker. So, once again, it's swings and roundabouts.

A colleague recommended the Samsung washer-dryer as it was the only model he never had to repair at that point. He still recommends the brand as they are the least frequent needing mechanical repairs. BUT, and it's a big BUT, the circuit boards for them are more expensive, and the cost of programming a replacement is also high as he has to pay rental on the "programming unit" which is basically a laptop with proprietary software loaded.