So your one-time clothesdryeris on its last leg – or its last load – and you ’re search to supervene upon it . You ’d really wish a drier that will save you a little money and energy , right ? perchance you ’ve already begin to research dryers online or at your local appliance store . The gamey - efficiencywashersand dryers credibly catch your eye with their sleek lines , in high spirits - tech interface and special " eco " lineament . It seems like these contrivance can do everything but fold up your laundry and put it out . And because these gizmo are labeled as " eminent - efficiency , " they predict the muscularity and money savings you ’re looking for .

But what does high - efficiency mean ? How do you figure out which drier is the most effective ? The efficiency of a dryer is base on how well it removes moisture from clothes using a given amount of energy , or how many pound of clothing can be dried per kW - hour ( kWh ) [ author : Bansal , Flex Your index ] . Here are some of the thing that can affect the efficiency of your dryer :

All dryers manufactured in the United States have to meet sure minimum efficiency requirements go under by the Department of Energy [ source : Eastment ] . However , get-up-and-go - efficient dryers have to exceed those standards . accord to EnergyStar , the program that licence energy - effective convenience , a high - efficiency drier should be at least 20 percent more efficient than a regular drier [ source : Taddonio ] .

Considering that of all the widget in the American household , the dryer is the second largest consumer of energy after the icebox , it seems like a no - brainer to get one that ’s as energy - efficient as possible . But do these high - efficiency mannequin really survive ? Find out on the next page .

Do high-efficiency dryers exist?

High - efficiencydryersdon’t actually exist yet , at least not in American gadget stores . The fact of the affair is that all dryers on the U.S. market today use about the same amount of energy . Energy Stardoesn’t even rate wearing apparel dryers for this reason . And Energy Star wo n’t even consider rating dryer until a monetary value - effective poser that is at least 20 percent more efficient than stock framework is available [ source : Taddonio ] .

So what ’s with those alluring high - efficiency automatic washer / dryer sets being sold by appliance companies like GE , Maytag , Kenmore and Whirlpool ? If you expect tight , you ’ll find that it ’s the automatic washer that earns the high - efficiency rating . The dryer is just riding on the washer ’s coattail . The term " high - efficiency washer and dryer " is a marketing manoeuvre that leads us to believe that both contraption are energy - efficient when , in fact , they are n’t . Yes , the drier have some vim - save functions ( more about these on the next page ) , but they are not using fewer kWh to dry out the same amount of clothes .

There are , however , a number of new dryer mannequin in development that aim to fill or transcend the Energy Star requirements . Some of these good example , such as theheat pumpdryer , are already being sold in Europe and are proving to be double as efficient as standard dryer [ informant : Nipkow ] .

The reason that these dryers are not being sold in the U.S. may be that they be quite a bit more ( about $ 300 more ) than even dryers . Since energy is more expensive in Europe , it ’s easy for consumers there to justify spending the extra hard currency on an free energy - efficient dryer . The European dryer will pay for itself with its energy saving faster than it would in the U.S. [ root : Taddonio ] . Heat pump dryers presently on the securities industry also take twice as long to dry a cargo of wash , definitely a disadvantage over stock drier . Though this longer dry time has been resolve in prototype models being tested for the U.S. market , a consumer survey found that U.S. consumer still would n’t consider buying the in high spirits - efficiency dryers . The rationality ? They were too unbelieving of the 50 to 60 percent gain in energy efficiency to justify spending the redundant money [ origin : Lowe ] .

Nevertheless , heating heart dryers may be available in the U.S. presently . And enquiry is currently being done into microwave applied science that would dry your wearing apparel the same path it heats your intellectual nourishment , but they have n’t ironed out all the furrow in that technology yet .

Energy Efficient Functions on Dryers

presently , the only manner for Americans to dry out their clothes in an energy - efficient way is to string up a clothesline and use solar big businessman . However , while telephone line - drying saves energy , it bring some hassles , including extra time spent hanging clothes and await for them to dry . And of course , there ’s the volatility of theweatheron laundry twenty-four hours to consider . Still , the"right - to - dry"movement , in which resident are fighting homeowners ' associations for the rightfield to hang apparel outside to dry out , is gaining impulse across the country . Though you may not be unforced to go that far , you’re able to still save some DOE when drying your clothes .

If you have an older dryer , it probably practice clock setting to dry a load of wash . If you set the timer for 40 minutes and your clothes actually dry out in 30 minutes , then you ’ve used an extra 10 minute of energy . Not only that , but you ’ve over - dried your clothes . This translates to extra wear - and - teardrop on the clothes and generates that annoying static electricity that make your bird depend on up your branch when you walk . Newer dryers undertake to solve the problem of over - dry in two mode :

Either of these engineering science will save Energy Department , but the moisture sensor is more accurate , with free energy savings of about 15 per centum , compared to 10 percent for the temperature sensor [ source : Flex Your Power ] .

Another style to help your dryer work more expeditiously is by using a faster or continue twisting cycle on the washer . Most of the newer washer have either fast spin speeds or several spin preferences . Spinning the wearing apparel faster or longer take away more water so that the drier does n’t have to crop as knockout to dry out them .

The pick of gas or electric will most likely depend on what sort of hook - up you have in your washing room . In any caseful , accelerator pedal drier be more up front than electric dryers , but cost less to maneuver over the years , so in the long run they may be you less [ source : California Energy Commission ] . This handycalculatorcan avail you estimate whether it ’s worth it to supercede your old drier , and whether it would benefit you to make the move to a gas - powered gismo .

Check out the links on the next page for more tips on dryers , washables and energy efficiency .

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