I recently saw a tv adert for a dishwashing product - I think it was Persil, I normally ignore adverts - saying that to save energy you should use your dishwasher every day as this would be more economical than washing by hand. The 'econonomical' saving was that you used less water. There was no mention of how much more electricity would be used. With electric prices about to rise the cost of a couple of bowls of water and the energy that uses is the least of my worries.