I try to explain this to people, but they are so convinced by the 'eco' branding/rethoric that even when you demonstrate they still disbelieve, or more acuratly do not want to believe.
Yes, check the power and water usage table in the manual: all the ones I’ve checked (in Europe), the eco program is not eco when compared to others (especially auto if it’s there)
Eco is just the standard program they have to ship and must use for the energy efficiency rating.
My understanding is that the standard program doesn’t allow for the optimizations that other programs do. It’s something like “must wash at 60C for 2h and perform a rinse cycle for 30 minutes” or something to that effect, so that everyone runs the same program and can compare ratings.
Whereas with other programs they can adjust the settings and times to make it wash better AND use less water/energy.
Because everyone would cheat and include a program that sprays cold water for a few seconds, using minimal energy but not actually getting your dishes clean.
