Ours seems to stack heaps, we only need to put a load on every second day with a family of four. I don't put pots in it though, I hand wash them so we can fit the smaller items all in the dishwasher. I think we only have a cold water connection for ours (will double check with DH on that one) and haven't had a significant rise in our electricity bill. I suppose it would be cheaper if you had hot water though? I'm not sure, my DH is much more cluey about those things!