For the past few months, our electric rates have gone through the roof in Maryland.

To that end, I'm replacing lights with CFLs when it makes sense.  My 12 year old refrigerator just failed completely, and I replaced it with a unit that uses half the electricity of my old one, I've priced out a new central air to understand when it makes financial sense to replace.  I've insulated pipes from the hot water heater,  etc etc.

But in discussion of dryers, there is never any discussion as to which uses the least electricity.  This is surprising, since an electric dryer has to be a big user of electricity.  I can't get gas (I live in the country), so I'm stuck trying to decide to replace my Sears.

Over on the sears site itself, there is no mention of energy efficiency either.

The only thing I have is the EnergyGuide tag from my last dryer purchase (about 8 years ago).

The guide shows a range of 312 to 1306, with my dryer coming in at 1069. 

Can someone explain why this information is not provided anywhere (not even CR) except by going to the store and looking at the tags?

Well, as I said in original question, my current dryer does have an energy star label and it implies that mine is fairly inefficient.

Now, I'm not disagreeing with you in principle, becauset they're sort of like an electric range or electric water heater... aside from insulating, there isn't much you can with these appliances.  But there's got to be a way to minimize the energy used for washes

For me the 2 main things with dryer efficiency is to make sure you keep your vent clean and filter also. If you use dryer sheets you need to wash your filter with hot sudsy water,then dry it and put it back in the dryer. Do this about every 6 months. Softener sheets tend to build up on the filter and slow down the air flow. Also if yours has the moisture sensing bars clean those with a rag and a little rubbing alcohol or vinegar to clean the softener build up off those also. This way they will detect the wet/dryness of the fabrics better.

If I was going to replace something I would look at the spin speed of the washer. If it just spins at a common 600rpm I would move up to something with 1000 or better rpms. This way the drier the clothes when you put them in the dryer the less energy the dryer will use.

I have read that some dryers that do a reverse tumble are supposed to dry faster. I have a friend that has the Fisher Paykel Top Load Dryer and it reverses and she says it dries faster than her old dryer (it was 20 years old) but she also says she thinks the F&P dryer is faster because she also bought the F&P washer and it spins 1000 rpms so she says her clothes are less damp going in the dryer than before when she had the old Kenmore set.

I've been looking at Washers and Dryer's and I've come to the same conclusion... the washer must have a huge impact on Dryer costs.  If the spin is more effective, the dryer runs less time and uses less electricity.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

--Tom

Not to be facetious - not in the least - but it seems we often forget about an extremely cost-effective manner of drying clothes these days; I am referring to a clothesline (or clothes dryer, as they are called at some websites which sell them).

If you live in a sunny climate, or at least one with moderate temps, an outdoor clothes dryer can be a great option. 

I dry most of my delicates on plastic, vented hangers made by Tide; I hang them in my laundry room, on a tension pole above my dryer.  This saves energy and keeps the delicates beautiful much longer.

Just thought I'd mention an option many people don't always consider.

I agree....Having travelled in the tropics, a person can put a shirt out to dry on a clothesline and 3 days later it will still be damp.  In these types of climates the laundromats offer FREE water extraction in a machine used between the pay washer and the pay drier.  The water extractor runs at some rediculous RPM and pretty much dries the clothes by shear G force.  Fisher & Paykel offer a transmission in their washer that gears up for SUSTAINED water extraction at the end of the cycle therefore the clothes have much less moisture in them whenthey hit the drier.  The downside?  You will need to iron every pice of cotton as it literally crushes and creases it.  For conventional clean, Fisher & Paykel is the best I've ever run into  and I used it for 8 years with no breakdowns.  Tomorrow I'm buying HE to reduce the water bill by 65% and the drier electric bill about the same.  By my calculations, I should save about $30/month, or $360 per year buying the $1200 HE Maytag set at Lowes.  $1k for conventional or $1200 for HE?  no brainer on that one.

Cheers,

Richard

 

Government regulations - or in this case the lack of it.

There are no energy guides for dryers because there is no way to measure a standard load.  If you want to save money on drying costs, look at the washer.  Invest in a front loader with a very fast spin speed,  some go as fast as 1300rpm.  What this will do is remove more water from your clothes before they go into the dryer reducing the dry time a lot.  Also, look at a large moisture sensor dryer.  Consumer Reports never points out the capacity should be a factor in a dryer.  Just like a hand dryer in a bathroom, if you ever look at the instructions, it says rub your hands together when using it.  What this does is spread out the water on your hands to increase the surface area exposed to the hot air, making it more efficient.  Same for a dryer, the more surface area exposed to the hot air, the more efficient it will be in removing moisture, so a larger capacity dryer makes more sense (get at least a 7cubft),  I hope this helps.

Andy

On drying energy efficiency - I had a closet built into my utility room with a heat vent on the floor of it and a vent grid above the door.  I hang slightly dryer-tossed (= wrinkle-free) clothes on the rods on plastic hangers and close the closet doors.   Very good energy efficiency!

What does HE stand for? Explain

Hello ...

That "HE" is usually interpreted as .. high efficiency .. or close.

In your perusing of today's newest appliances, etc., here is a "link" which has a glossary to help understand these various acronyms & new terms - - -

http://www.cwlp.com/energy_services/energy_systems_tech/efficiency_glossary.htm

everett

I have also found that drying on the "Delicate" cycle uses less energy and gets clothes just as dry.  I also will wait and put two small washer loads into the dryer together.  We also use drying racks  under our heating vents indoors, and we get double our money in the winter time, as the clothes dry quickly when the heat is on.  According to data provided on our bill by the utility company, our household energy usage is always lowest in our neighborhood.

ever here of propane???get a tank run a line.......i did..cut my bills in 1/2