I live in the UK, so our appliance standards are different. However, I just looked at my current dishwasher - it uses 0.85 kWh/cycle and 11.5L per cycle. I thin

I live in the UK, so our appliance standards are different. However, I just looked at my current dishwasher - it uses 0.85 kWh/cycle and 11.5L per cycle. I think the assumption in the US is 215 cycles a year - so that means 183 kWh/year and 3 gallons / cycle. That seems to be less than this limit. And, it's totally fine? It cleans dishes. It takes a few hours - but then it's pretty rare I need all my dishes immediately anyway. I've got enough so even if it's full there's a glass or a plate available. I use the all in one tablets - it has a special tablet mode that opens the door pretty much immediately. I never pre-rinse plates. I think I clean the filters every 3-6 months under the kitchen tap. Takes about 2 minutes. This article seems to be conservatism (in the sense of "change is bad") for the sake of it.