When you’ve been washing dishes the same way for decades, true innovation becomes almost invisible until someone shows you what’s possible. Ian Banes, Product Line Head for Dishwashing at AEG, spent four years deconstructing every aspect of how we clean our plates, from the physics of water droplets hitting ceramic to the behavioral differences between weekday efficiency and weekend entertaining. His team’s obsession with eliminating waste in the cleaning process has produced something genuinely transformative: a dishwasher that operates at library-quiet 35 decibels while using just 8.4 liters of water per cycle and achieving what they boldly claim is 100% cleaning performance in 90 minutes, no pre-rinse required.
The AEG New Favorit represents the kind of engineering breakthrough that happens when you refuse to accept that “good enough” is actually good enough. Rather than incrementally improving existing technology, Banes and his team started from scratch, questioning every assumption about spray arm rotation, water injection angles, detergent mixing timing, and even the behavioral patterns that dictate how we load our dishwashers differently on Tuesday versus Saturday night. The result challenges the fundamental compromises we’ve accepted in kitchen appliances, proving that quieter operation doesn’t mean weaker performance, and that sustainability innovations can enhance rather than limit functionality.
Banes explains that the project began with extensive consumer research that revealed significant gaps in the market. “We saw quite a lot of gaps in what the consumer needs versus what was actually on the market,” he notes, pointing to demands for more energy saving, water saving, shorter cycles, and better results. This research guided a development process that prioritized real-world performance over flashy features. The team spent years in test labs, conducting iterative testing to optimize every detail of the cleaning process. Their breakthrough came from recognizing that conventional dishwashers waste enormous amounts of water and energy by directing jets against the sides of the tub instead of the dishes themselves. This misplaced force creates unnecessary noise while contributing nothing to the actual cleaning process.
The solution required re-engineering the entire hydraulic system from the ground up. “If you’re putting water in too fast or too hard, then it can hit the side of the tub and not hit the side of the dishes,” Banes explains. His team worked obsessively on spray arm rotation patterns, nozzle geometry, and software timing to ensure that “every drop of water was going on the plates.” This precision targeting eliminates the waste that generates noise and consumes resources without improving results. By focusing water and energy exactly where needed, the New Favorit achieves its remarkable combination of whisper-quiet operation and dramatically reduced resource consumption while actually improving cleaning performance. The attention to detail extends to detergent mixing, which Banes describes as dependent on multiple factors: “It’s a combination of time, temperature, and the moment in the cycle when you do things.”
The SatelliteClean Pro spray arm represents the culmination of this engineering philosophy, achieving the bold claim of 100% burnt-on food removal in 90 minutes. “We’ve tested this externally, so we’re very confident in the claim,” Banes states, emphasizing that validation came from independent institutes rather than internal testing alone. The spray arm’s success lies in the precise coordination of rotation timing, water pressure, and nozzle angles, creating coverage patterns that reach every corner of the tub. This comprehensive cleaning power finally enables users to abandon pre-rinsing, a time-consuming habit born from distrust of older machines. The combination of advanced hydraulics, intelligent software, and external validation represents a genuine leap forward in cleaning technology that addresses one of the most persistent frustrations with dishwashers.
Banes and his team also recognized that loading patterns vary dramatically between weekday survival and weekend entertaining. During busy weeknights, families often rely on simple meals that generate basic cleaning challenges like oven trays from quick tray bakes. Weekends bring more elaborate cooking, wine glasses, and oddly shaped serving pieces that require different accommodation. The 4-in-1 FlexHolder system adapts to these behavioral patterns, standing upright to securely hold large oven trays during the week and folding down to cradle delicate glassware on weekends. The design philosophy extends throughout the interior, including a tub that’s available in both 82 and 87 centimeters to provide extra space for larger items without compromising standard kitchen dimensions. This flexibility reflects the team’s deep understanding of how real families actually use their appliances.
Sustainability considerations drove innovations beyond operational efficiency. The New Favorit incorporates 35% recycled plastic throughout its construction, a significant advancement that required overcoming substantial engineering challenges. “Complex engineering to get that right,” as Banes puts it, because recycled polymers behave differently than virgin materials, demanding new approaches to structural design and manufacturing processes. This commitment represents a holistic view of environmental impact that considers the entire product lifecycle, from raw materials through daily operation. The combination of reduced resource consumption during use and increased recycled content in construction demonstrates that sustainability can enhance rather than compromise performance.
When asked to identify the single most important innovation that users might not appreciate in a showroom demonstration, Banes points to the fundamental cleaning performance: “100% clean in 90 minutes.” While energy labels and noise ratings are visible on specification sheets, the true revolution lies in the daily experience of loading dirty dishes and retrieving spotless ones without any preparatory work. After four years of development and consumer research, Banes reports that the most rewarding moments at IFA have been the enthusiastic reactions from retailers eager to stock the new models. With production now ramping up and rollout beginning in Germany, the AEG New Favorit is positioned to quietly transform expectations for what a dishwasher can accomplish in modern kitchens.
Image Credits: Saskia Uppenkamp
Image Credits: Saskia Uppenkamp
Availability: The AEG New Favorit Dishwasher is entering production now, starting in Germany and rolling out across markets, with 2026 expected to be a big year for availability.
