Heat Pump Clothes Dryers

[iPlug]

Any here with experience using full-sized (U.S. standard) heat pump dryers?

We have a standard electric resistance dryer and estimate we use 1500-2000 kwh/year. This is the biggest energy hog appliance in most houses. We have been wanting a standard size heat pump dryer for a long while now, but until perhaps recently they all seemed to have relatively poor reliability reviews so have been holding out and had to buy another electric resistance dryer 1-2 years ago when the old one went out.

The compact sized heat pump dryers have been around for many years and made their way over to this side of the pond a few years ago and get decent reliability reviews. But the U.S. sized standard format ones have been consistently poorly rated due to early breakdown (ignoring poor reviews from impatient users who don't understand the tech and efficiency gains and were upset drying times took ~50-100% longer).

The latest Whirlpool full-sized 7.4 ft^3 reliability reviews look to be holding up better than predecessors, so there is hope:

White 7.4 cu.ft Front Load Heat Pump Dryer with Intiutitive Touch Controls, Advanced Moisture Sensing WHD560CHW | Whirlpool

Whirlpool 7.4 cu. ft. 240 Volt Stackable White Electric Ventless Dryer with Intuitive Touch Controls, ENERGY STAR-WHD560CHW - The Home Depot

 

[tstolze]

I will research, then push the thought to the back burner again about 1 or 2 times a year.
Guess I'm waiting for a failure of our standard electric dryer before replacing.
I think reliability and getting everyone used to the longer dry cycles are my two major concerns.
I do look forward to the dryer no longer pumping air out of the house and then having the Geo Heatpump have to condition the outside air brought into the house.
It is our last electric appliance that can be upgraded with a decent amount of energy reduction.

 

[nwdiver]

This guy has a Samsung. Seems to really like it.

I've thought about it but I've been line drying my clothes for ~5 years. I find it cathartic.

 

[iPlug]

This guy has a Samsung. Seems to really like it.

Yeah, but that's one of the small, nonstandard sized ones - "just" 4 ft^3 (Samsung Model # DV22N6800HW). This size class has been around for many years and maintained good reviews. But the question is if any here have experience with the full-sized (>7 ft^3) heat pump dryers. Except for the 7.4 ft^3 new Whirlpool listed above which got ok reviews, others in this size class have poor reviews. So far, scalability has not worked out well for heat pump clothes dryers.

I've thought about it but I've been line drying my clothes for ~5 years. I find it cathartic.

Was waiting for the first overachiever to post clothes line/outside drying here. IIRC from a few years ago, SageBrush does the same. Hard to beat 0 kWh with your method.

 

[nwdiver]

Yeah, but that's one of the small, nonstandard sized ones - "just" 4 ft^3 (Samsung Model # DV22N6800HW). This size class has been around for many years and maintained good reviews. But the question is if any here have experience with the full-sized (>7 ft^3) heat pump dryers. Except for the 7.4 ft^3 new Whirlpool listed above which got ok reviews, others in this size class have poor reviews. So far, scalability has not worked out well for heat pump clothes dryers.


Was waiting for the first overachiever to post clothes line/outside drying here. IIRC from a few years ago, SageBrush does the same. Hard to beat 0 kWh with your method.

And the dryer was cheap ~$50 IIRC. And YHUGE, way bigger than 7.4ft^3

 

[ReddyLeaf]

If you’re really concerned with electrical consumption, just hang dry. I’ve been doing that for decades. Outside in the summer, inside in the winter (when we need the humidity due to our very dry winters). I conscripted our dryer circuit for a EV charging, a better use anyway.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

If you’re really concerned with electrical consumption, just hang dry. I’ve been doing that for decades. Outside in the summer, inside in the winter (when we need the humidity due to our very dry winters). I conscripted our dryer circuit for a EV charging, a better use anyway.

We hang dry our clothes, similarly, but in winter/rain use the dryer for towels. 2 other adults in household use the dryer.

But I'm glad to see the information about heat pump dryers. Some people are concerned that the longer drying cycle causes more damage to clothes, but in general the comment is that the lower temperature is less harsh on clothing.

 

[miimura]

Something not clearly mentioned in this thread is that most heat pump dryers don't vent to outside. Instead they run the air over the cold side of the heat pump, condensing the moisture out of the air. Therefore, they also need a drain, which is usually not a problem if it's installed next to a washer.

 

[iPlug]

Some homes do not have a vent to the outside so this can be a plus.

Additionally, with vented units, heat is dumped outide. That ok in summer but in winter that requires drawing in cold air from outside which increases heating needs for the home.

 

[SageBrush]

A clothesline need not be an all or nothing affair. Perhaps its use in the iPlug household would let them downsize the heat pump appliance

 

[iPlug]

A clothesline need not be an all or nothing affair. Perhaps its use in the iPlug household would let them downsize the heat pump appliance

As a part of shared domestic affairs, I wash my work clothes and run them through the dryer for a few minutes then hang them up in our small same laundry/mud room on the ~2.5’ rack. Advantage is no time lost - these clothes are put on hangers which is the final storage form anyway, the rack is right next to the dryer, and this process gets them wrinkle free with no need to iron.

The efficiency side of me is more than fine with the idea of expanding this practice to include more laundry and taking this outside. But the main obstacles include:

1. seasonality: we have bone dry summers - clothesline will do the job nicely in a couple hours then, but winter is humid/rain season and clothes won’t dry for weeks; also winter is the time we typically have stay-over guests and extra loads of laundry
2. wife

 

[SageBrush]

these clothes are put on hangers which is the final storage form anyway, the rack is right next to the dryer, and this process gets them wrinkle free with no need to iron.

I do exactly the same, using an outside line. Same experience -- no time wasted, and excellent outcome.

I hear you about humid weather.

 

[SSedan]

I will take note of this as the current dryer is having intermittent electronics issues. Thinking the slower drying will be a hard sell with the wofe and kids.

For the meantime though I am venting indoors and have a fan pushing the air towards the heat pump water heater. December in WI the extra heat and humidity are welcome.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I do exactly the same, using an outside line. Same experience -- no time wasted, and excellent outcome.

I hear you about humid weather.

Hmm, I should put stuff that goes on hangers outside on the same hanger. Hadn't thought to do that.

But most of our clothes end up folded, so not much of a time saver. Overall, hang-drying takes extra time, so I treat it as energy-saving exercise.

 

[SageBrush]

But most of our clothes end up folded

If you have a choice, you may find yourself hanging rather than folding. That is what happened to us, and it was an eye opener. Nowadays we fold linen and towels, and pretty much everything else goes on a hangar. One of the advantages of this way of handling laundry is it takes less time than dryer + folding.

 

[iPlug]

For those interested in the performance and efficiency of heat pump and hybrid heat pump clothes dryers, a 2018 paper from Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance:

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) | Heat Pump Clothes…

They noted that the first generation of US market hybrid models (not pure heat pump) were 20-25% more efficient for full size models and 65% for the tested compact heat pump only model. Second generation hybrid dryers were 30%+ efficient. Of note, the full sized dryer noted at the start of this TMC thread is a heat pump only model, so should perform even better here.

The study also noted that when pairing with a high speed washing machine, heat pump and hybrid dryers take 10-30 minutes longer to dry than conventional machines for comparable loads.

 

[mspohr]

That's the problem with gas infrastructure. Once it's installed it's difficult to replace and just keeps burning.
Had the same problem with my old house. Gas stove, furnace, water heaters. Fortunately had good electric supply so was able to install a heat pump water and hydronic in half the house but still has gas stove and forced air unit.
My new house is all electric. Heat pump and induction range.

I also bought a new heat pump ventless clothes dryer. It works well and since it's ventless, all of the heat it generates stays in the house in the winter. (Summer we use a clothes line)

 

[iPlug]

I also bought a new heat pump ventless clothes dryer. It works well and since it's ventless, all of the heat it generates stays in the house in the winter. (Summer we use a clothes line)

If you don’t mind me asking, which model did you go with?

We had been looking to replace our electric resistance dryer with a heat pump unit for many years but until the last 1-2 years the “American” size larger capacity ones consistently received poor reliability ratings. Had to replace our electric dryer 2-3 years ago and just missed those larger capacity newer models with reliability improvements.

 

[mspohr]

If you don’t mind me asking, which model did you go with?

We had been looking to replace our electric resistance dryer with a heat pump unit for many years but until the last 1-2 years the “American” size larger capacity ones consistently received poor reliability ratings. Had to replace our electric dryer 2-3 years ago and just missed those larger capacity newer models with reliability improvements.

We bought a Samsung DV22N6800HW/A2
Only 800 Watts!
This is a smaller dryer and woks great for us with matching smaller washer.
Has been reliable for 6 months so far.

 

[SageBrush]

We bought a Samsung DV22N6800HW/A2
Only 800 Watts!
This is a smaller dryer and woks great for us with matching smaller washer.
Has been reliable for 6 months so far.

This is something to think about for the part of the winter where the clothes line is less than ideal. I'm confused by the energy ratings though. Why are devices with double the CEF consuming twice the estimated annual energy ? I can explain away a small part of the difference by the 10% larger drum but not the remainder.

EnergyStar.gov