Dishwasher-- Save some energy

I have heard that preheating your water before you start the dishwasher should save some heating dollars.

My little house has a gas hot water heater, and this is cheaper than using the electrically powered heater in the dishwasher itself. I can't find any stats to support this online, but I was able to retreive some dishwasher related tips here.

• Wash only full loads.
• Scrape food particles from dishes but do not rinse.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on loading.
• Keep filter screen clean.
• Shut off dishwasher before it goes into the drying cycle; then open the door and let dishes air dry; or use the energy-saver air-dry option if your dishwasher has one.
• Use the proper amount of detergent. Too much or too little detergent reduces efficiency.

I am not sure that I agree with the point above that suggests that rinsing is not necessary. I have always scraped the plates into the trash, then used cold water sparingly to quickly rinse prior to putting them into the machine. I feel that keeping extra food out of the dishwasher should help to keep the dishwasher from clogging its' screen and thus allowing to to work more efficiently.

I think that I will try to open the dishwasher before it goes into dry cycle and see how that works.