Talk to me about Heat Pump tumble driers

[fossyant]

Don't bother. Clothes airer and a dehumidifier. So much so, we've installed a cast iron/wood old fashioned airer in our bay window in the kitchen, everything dries within 24 hours without the dehumidifier, or overnight with one on.

Dryer just used for emergencies - power consumption is stupid,

 

[Drago]

They're deared to buy, I've seen, but cheaper to run than a 'normal' condenser dryer.

Cheaper if you power them off the mains without solar.

Am I right in thinking they don't require venting?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

People are comparing them to normal condenser dryers

but what about ones that have the old type vent and not the new fangled condenser ones?

is there a difference??

 

[fossyant]

People are comparing them to normal condenser dryers

but what about ones that have the old type vent and not the new fangled condenser ones?

is there a difference??

We've got a vented one. What ever type, you are looking at at least one or two KW per hour to dry clothes, so a load will cost 30p per hour, per KWH used.

Eg to dry a load in ours costs about 60p - one hour at 2KWH. Multiply this by lots of washing = silly money, so everything goes on an airer now. Heat pump machines are expensive to buy, dry slower, but use less electricity (but if it's drying for longer, surely it will use the same).

 

[PeteXXX]

Cheaper if you power them off the mains without solar.

Am I right in thinking they don't require venting?

You are correct. Heat Pump ones don't require venting.
I don't understand the first sentence, though.

 

[Sharky]

Just put a load of washing on the rotary line outside AND now it's raining!
Forecast is light showers - should I wait until it stops, or bring it in now?
Think I need to rescue them and pop them into the tumble drier.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Comparison on costs here (no idea if the leccy prices are up to date)

Short version: only worth it if you use it a lot.

We have a condensing one, but only use it rarely, normally just hang washing out.

https://inthewash.co.uk/tumble-dryers/heat-pump-vs-condenser-dryer-running-costs/

 

[Drago]

You are correct. Heat Pump ones don't require venting.
I don't understand the first sentence, though.

Meaning my conventional dryer runs off the solar/battery, and manged with half a braincell - which is not always easy for me - costs effectively zero to run.

 

[PeteXXX]

Meaning my conventional dryer runs off the solar/battery, and manged with half a braincell - which is not always easy for me - costs effectively zero to run.

Ahhh. Ta 👍

 

[cougie uk]

Meaning my conventional dryer runs off the solar/battery, and manged with half a braincell - which is not always easy for me - costs effectively zero to run.

Depending what tariff you're on - at the moment it's marginally cheaper for me to sell all my solar and fill my battery offpeak and use that instead.

 

[Sharky]

If opting for a condenser type dryer, check the location of the reservoir tank.
Some seem to be at the top of the machine, for floor based machines and some have their tanks near the base for machines which are stacked on top of the washing machine.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Depending what tariff you're on - at the moment it's marginally cheaper for me to sell all my solar and fill my battery offpeak and use that instead.

I presume that means you have a cheap off peak rate that you can use to charge the battery?

You must also have a very good Feed in Tariff - mine is only 5p per Kwh but I dare not change as the other rates are very low compared to anything else we could get

 

[Accy cyclist]

The last time I used a tumble dryer was about 30 years ago. I gave up using them after a massive static shock off some over dried polyester items made me feel like I was strapped into old sparky!

 

[figbat]

We’ve just switched to a dual tariff so delay drying (and clothes and dish washers) to run in the low cost time period.

Don't bother. Clothes airer and a dehumidifier…

Dryer just used for emergencies - power consumption is stupid,

Dehumidifiers are also power hungry. You’re essentially using the whole room as a static dryer rather than just a small rotating drum.

 

[PaulSB]

We've got a vented one. What ever type, you are looking at at least one or two KW per hour to dry clothes, so a load will cost 30p per hour, per KWH used.

Eg to dry a load in ours costs about 60p - one hour at 2KWH. Multiply this by lots of washing = silly money, so everything goes on an airer now. Heat pump machines are expensive to buy, dry slower, but use less electricity (but if it's drying for longer, surely it will use the same).

Is 60p a load really that expensive? By "load" do you mean washing machine load or dryer load? Our machines take different load sizes. I realise household size has a big impact on this. In our house, sports clothing aside, we have a maximum of three washes a week.

£0.60 *3 = £1.80 *52 = £93.60pa

I'd guess 75% of our washing is dried outside reducing the cost significantly. I'm not sure I could live with washing draped in the kitchen window three days a week.

Sports clothing, and a lot of other clothing, comes out of the machine virtually dry if given a second spin. If winter forces main washes to be dried indoors then I usually second spin the heavy stuff, e.g. jeans, which makes a big difference.