Some years ago we had a very small solar power setup and every watt had to be counted. (We live off-grid.)

I modified a Whirlpool belt-drive washer to use less power - a 60V DC permanent magnet motor (from a prehistoric huge computer tape drive), 240V power went through a toroidal transformer and a bridge rectifier to give the right DC voltage to the motor. (Being Australian, the washing machine was originally 240V, this remained for everything except the motor - timer, valves, wigwags were original 240V.)

I also replaced the (extremely thick, dirty) oil in the transmission with automotive transmission fluid. It greatly reduced the load on the motor, and thus the power consumption. Original unmodified washer used about 600 Watts, the modified washer used around 200W from memory, and spin was much faster too. (The original AC motor had a fixed speed, the DC motor got faster with lighter load.) There was slightly more gear noise with the light oil.

It was a pretty rough and ready conversion but it worked. (Machine has long since gone to scrap but the DC motor remains on the shelf...)

I stopped modifying washing machines when Fisher and Paykel Smart Drive top loaders came out - max consumption of 175 watts, no mods needed, better wash, faster spin.