Article DetailsVentless Clothes Dryers: The New Standard of Efficiency |
| Date Added: June 29, 2010 05:00:00 PM |
| Author: Michael Lee |
| Category: Home: Consumer Information |
| As the most successful energy efficiency campaign ever, ENERGY STAR®® has changed the way U.S. consumers purchase appliances and electronics. The ubiquitous ENERGY STAR logo takes the guesswork out of shopping for green products and offers a new selling point for manufactures.
However, left out of the ENERGY STAR certification program is the one of the most common household appliances of all – the residential clothes dryer. As ENERGY STAR finally begins the process of writing clothes dryer standards, let’s hope they don’t overlook highly efficient condensing dryers and ventless washer dryer combos. The progression of dryer technology prior to the invention of the condensing dryer can be summed up in just a few words; first came the clothes line, then came the vented tumble dryer. Sure, modern dryers have LCD displays and humidity-sensing shut-off, but clothing is still dried by blowing warm air across wet laundry and then expelling the moisture out a vent. Fortunately, a better more efficient technology exists that eliminates the cumbersome and outdated dryer vent. Condensing (ventless) dryers use a dehumidifying chamber to remove moisture from warm damp air that is circulated through the dryer drum. Once the moisture is removed, the resulting dry air is re-circulated back into the dryer drum and the process starts over again. Dry times for stand-alone condensing dryers are now comparable to standard vented dryers and the process is far more efficient. Unlike vented dryers, condensing machines use a closed-loop system that does not expelled heated air out a vent. Since the warm air remains in the machine, the heating element within a condensing dryer does not have to work as hard to warm the air during the drying process. The result is a dry system that is 50% - 70% more efficient and much easier to install. Another efficiency advantage to condensing dryers pertains to room air heating a cooling. In most areas of the world, room air is heated by a furnace in the winter and cooled by an air conditioner in the summer. Standard vented dryers remove and expel air from the surrounding room, requiring HVAC systems to work harder to keep a room at a comfortable temperature. Closed-loop condensing dryers do not remove air from a room and therefore do not impact HVAC systems. If energy efficiency is the ultimate measuring stick for the ENERGY STAR program, then ventless dryers deserve the designation as the most efficient dryers on the market. Hopefully ENERGY STAR’s new dryer efficiency ratings will give them their place in the spotlight. |
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