Heat pump clothes dryer

[Cooler]

Does anyone know anything about this.  I saw it described on TV.  It does not require any venting.  And it saves about 30¢ per load. 

The driers are expensive though--about $1,400.00.  Bosh dryers cost about $1,000.00 and you can get a Whirlpool dryer for about $600.00.

I do two or three loads a week, so about 75¢ per week.  To make up the difference would me about 500 to 1,000 weeks. 

But neat technology, and no venting required.  I would guess that the venting issue would drive most of the sales.

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/art...hes-dryers

[TDKPE]

Where does the moisture go that's pulled out of the clothes?

[Cooler]

Where does the moisture go that's pulled out of the clothes?

The way this works it that it is basically the reverse of an refrigerator.  A refrigerator creates cold and generates heat. 

The dryer takes that heat end of the unit and pushes it into to the tumbler.  It then becomes laden with moisture and passes over the cold end of the unit.  The water then condenses and ends up in a tray or reservoir.

That reservoir can then be hooked up to a hose and allowed to drain or you can empty the reservoir manually after 3 or 4 loads. 

You still have to clean out the lint from the lint trap.  And once in a while you probably have to vacuum the condenser coil which will accumulate dust and dog or cat hair.

On a theoretical level this really appeals to me.  But on a dollars and cents level it does not. 

But I once lived in an apartment with a combination washer/dryer.  The dryer was not vented outdoors and took forever to dry the clothes and generated so much heat that the elastic bands on my bvds died and they would fall to my ankles.

I think for some apartments this would be a nice option.  For my house, not so much.

[daddo]

A lot more to repair than just an electric heater.

If it never broke down in 15-20 years, then it would save enough money.

I'm still waiting for them to use a sunlight tube to direct the suns light into a drier where just a fan is blowing over the tumbled clothes.

[Phil Thien]

I think I read they can take significantly longer to dry a load?

[toolmiser]

I've heard they are coming out with a new solar unit. Very inexpensive, but weather sensitive. It's a piece of rope between two uprights. After the initial costs it's free.

BTW our dryer is on it's last leg, laundry people don't care to do the solar route, especially in Wisconsin. I told them my mother did it that way, but they aren't impressed.

[pprobus]

I've heard they are coming out with a new solar unit.  Very inexpensive, but weather sensitive.  It's a piece of rope between two uprights.  After the initial costs it's free.

BTW our dryer is on it's last leg, laundry people don't care to do the solar route, especially in Wisconsin.  I told them my mother did it that way, but they aren't impressed.

OK you owe me the cost of cleaning out my keyboard of coffee.

[pprobus]

The way this works it that it is basically the reverse of an refrigerator.  A refrigerator creates cold and generates heat. 

The dryer takes that heat end of the unit and pushes it into to the tumbler.  It then becomes laden with moisture and passes over the cold end of the unit.  The water then condenses and ends up in a tray or reservoir.

That reservoir can then be hooked up to a hose and allowed to drain or you can empty the reservoir manually after 3 or 4 loads. 

You still have to clean out the lint from the lint trap.  And once in a while you probably have to vacuum the condenser coil which will accumulate dust and dog or cat hair.

On a theoretical level this really appeals to me.  But on a dollars and cents level it does not. 

But I once lived in an apartment with a combination washer/dryer.  The dryer was not vented outdoors and took forever to dry the clothes and generated so much heat that the elastic bands on my bvds died and they would fall to my ankles.

I think for some apartments this would be a nice option.  For my house, not so much.

They should find a way to make a "winter/summer" switch so that you can use that condensate to humidify in the winter months.

[Cooler]

I think I read they can take significantly longer to dry a load?

On This Old House they said it takes longer but "not long enough that you would notice".  I am not entirely sure of what that entails, but since I don't have a waiting list for the dryer, I would say it was not a problem.  If you are doing 5 or 10 loads on one day it might be an issue.  I rarely do more than two loads a day, though occasionally I wash something that calls for low heat in the dryer (permanent press, etc.).

[Robert Adams]

On This Old House they said it takes longer but "not long enough that you would notice".  I am not entirely sure of what that entails, but since I don't have a waiting list for the dryer, I would say it was not a problem.  If you are doing 5 or 10 loads on one day it might be an issue.  I rarely do more than two loads a day, though occasionally I wash something that calls for low heat in the dryer (permanent press, etc.).

           Wow that's allot of laundry to do. Are you running a cleaning service? We do 2 loads a week and I generate allot of dirty clothes. 

            As for the heatpump dryer. Don't even think of buying one. You will be sorely disappointed. I nave used them in europe when visiting and it can take all day for a small batch of clothes to dry. 
 
             There is nothing wrong with electric or gas dryers. They are simple and just work and with washers spinning much faster the clothes need much less drying now.