Top loaders are higher capacity and cost less. And open air drying is preferable to machine drying.
But my understanding is that top-loaders are always inefficient: they have to use a lot more water, because the clothes have to be submerged, and thus they also have to use a lot more energy to heat it.
and thus they also have to use a lot more energy to heat it.
Most if not all top-loaders don't heat the water.
> Most if not all top-loaders don't heat the water.
That's a bit pedantic, since on warm and hot cycles the water-heater will use energy to heat the water.
If you wash with cold cycle, efficiency is just a matter of water volume…and most detergents work well in cold water.