By Chris Nicholls
SYDNEY: Omega has released a new 45cm dishwasher that houses a full eight place settings but uses only 8 litres per full cycle.
The Omega DW301X has been developed for couples, empty nesters and those living in a retirement village who want a dishwasher but do not have the space, according to product and promotions coordinator Tony Lee.
As a result, he said the main market for the machines will be commercial, with small retirement village apartments and other compact apartment builders the main customers.
“If space is that restricted, at least a 45[cm] can go in there,” he said.
“Admittedly, at the retail [level], they don’t represent a big part of the sales, but in the specialist areas they come to the fore. We do most of our sales for 45cm through our commercial position,” he said.
“People say ‘There’s only myself’ or ‘There’s only two of us now, I don’t need a dishwasher’, but if they’re thinking green, they will get a dishwasher,” he said.
The stainless steel dishwasher has intensive, normal and economy washes, a light wash for glasses, crystal and fine china and a rapid wash for lightly soiled loads.
However, despite its claims of low water use, the machine only receives a 1.5 star rating for water efficiency and a 1 star energy efficiency rating.
Despite the low ratings, Lee said there was still an economic advantage over normal hand washing and the products were still water and energy efficient.
The DW301X sells for approximately $790 from major electrical retailers and come with a two year in home warranty on parts and labour.