You are paying money every time you press start on your dryer. Not a lot at once per load, but you pay plenty over the course of a year. The average American household spends about $111 annually drying laundry, even before energy prices rise further. Luckily, there are ways to dry laundry faster while reducing your power bill at the same time. Read on to learn what makes a difference.
Dryers have to work hard to remove moisture from your clothes. Electric dryers use anywhere from 2 to 6 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per drying cycle. That compares to just 0.5 to 1 kWh for your washing machine to run through the exact same load of laundry.
Dryers account for roughly 75 to 85 percent of your laundry energy costs because they have three tasks: heat up air, force it through your laundry, and vent it out. Each step requires energy, so your dryer works harder if any part gets restricted.
The length of the drying cycle plays the biggest role in how much energy your dryer uses. As expected, a dryer running for one hour and 30 minutes uses more energy than one that runs for half an hour. Reducing drying time will save you money in the short term.
Tip: Speed Things Up in the Washer
This tip is commonly overlooked. Before transferring your laundry to the dryer, help cut down on moisture by using a high spin cycle in your washing machine. A high spin creates enough centrifugal force to pull water out of your clothing and leave them damp instead of soaking wet. It doesn’t dry your clothes completely, but it can shave 15 to 20 minutes off your drying time.
Heavy fabrics like jeans, towels, and sweatshirts absorb more water than lighter fabrics. Spin these clothes on the highest possible setting before transferring them to the dryer. Delicates should be spun on medium instead.
How you fill the dryer impacts efficiency more than you might realize. Ideally, your dryer should be about half to three quarters full. If it’s too full, air cannot easily escape and enter the drum, which lengthens drying time. Too empty and you’d rather wait until you have a full load than heat up your dryer for a small one.
Sort your laundry by fabric type before drying. Thick cotton towels take longer to dry than light synthetic fabrics. If you wash them together, your dryer has to stay on until the thick towels signal they’re dry, which leaves your lighter garments over dried. Keep similar fabrics in the same load to have everything dry around the same time.
Most people don’t think twice before setting their dryer to high and letting it go. A high setting will get your clothes dry, but it’s not always best. Using a low heat for a longer period of time can actually cost you less overall than running high heat. You’ll also preserve your clothing since high heat will cause wear faster.
New dryers may have an Eco Mode or Air Fluff option. This option barely uses any heat at all, so it’s best suited for lighter clothing that doesn’t need much drying. Otherwise, you can use medium heat for most fabric types in a normal mixed load.
If your dryer has a sensor dry option, then use it. Modern dryers have sensors that automatically detect when your clothes are dry and shut off the machine. Not only does this prevent over drying, but it also saves energy. When dryers run on a set time rather than a sensor, they’ll finish their cycle even if your clothes dried early. Over time, those extra minutes add up.
ENERGY STAR qualified dryers use approximately 20 percent less energy than conventional models. Heat pump dryer models use 20 to 60 percent less energy than regular gas or electric dryers. Keep an eye out for both labels when buying a new dryer.
Heat pump dryers are the premier energy-saving appliance for your laundry room. Whereas regular electric dryers use 2,500 to 5,000 watts of power per cycle, heat pump dryers use between 1,000 and 1,500. Translated into energy costs, that’s roughly 1.5 to 2.5 kWh per load instead of the 4 to 6 kWh you’d normally pay for conventional dryers.
Heat pumps work by continuously recycling air instead of sucking in new air and having to heat it up from room temperature. This constant recycling process reduces energy consumption by up to 70 percent. Heat pump dryers are expensive but may pay for themselves after 3-5 years.
Stay dryer efficient by doing this simple task before every load of laundry. Clean your lint trap. A dirty lint trap traps air inside the machine, making it take longer for your clothes to dry. The longer it takes, the more energy your dryer uses. Your lint trap is right there in front of you and it takes less than two minutes to clean.
The vent hose needs cleaning too. Rodents love to build nests in hoses, especially if they lead outside. When this happens, your dryer is trying to push hot air through a clogged vent. Not only will your dryer take longer to dry, but it could also overheat. Clean your vent once every 3 months or so, and once a year would be ideal.
It takes almost no effort to dry multiple loads of laundry back-to-back. With back-to-back loads, you can cut drying time down since the dryer doesn’t have to heat back up. Your dryer will already be hot from the previous cycle. Simply transfer the next load in before the dryer cooled down for an immediate decrease in drying time.
If you live in a time-of-use energy grid, your dryer costs less to run overnight or in the early morning. Contact your energy provider to see when your off-peak hours are.
Hang dry anything that isn’t wrinkly when you take it off the line. Hanging clothes on a drying rack outside (or inside near an open window with a fan blowing) reduces carbon emissions from your laundry by 75 percent. You don’t always have to hang everything. If you hang your clothes for 20 minutes before throwing them in the dryer, you’ll decrease drying time every load.
It’s always helpful to study real examples instead of relying on hypotheticals.
Researchers interested in laundry energy efficiency evaluated electric dryers vs heat pump dryers installed in real homes. The outcome? Houses equipped with energy-efficient heat pump dryers experienced about a 34–36 percent decrease in yearly electricity use (hundreds of kWh).
This decrease was due entirely to switching from a drying system that heats fresh air and vents it out of your home to one that recirculates warm air internally via a closed loop. Heat pump dryers keep using the heat they’ve already produced by cycling it through the clothes, significantly lowering their electricity use.
Not only that, but the energy savings these dryers provide add up. In just one year, several families in the study saved over 300 kWh on electricity.
Article linked to case study: https://www.aceee.org/files/proceedings/2016/data/papers/1_160.pdf
Efficient dryers can drastically lower power use while increasing your laundry operation’s energy efficiency.
Electric dryers use between 2–6 kWh of electricity per drying cycle. This depends on the size of your load, the drying temperature you select, and drying time.
Higher temperatures and drying cycles will use significantly more energy.
Dryers that have the following features are usually more efficient:
Dry with a moisture sensor
Heat pump dryer
Low running temperatures
Better airflow and insulation
These technologies help your dryer pull moisture from your clothes while consuming less electricity.
Heat pump dryers are much more efficient than traditional models. Instead of venting hot air outside, heat pump dryers re-circulate the heated air back through your clothes.
As a result, they use 30–70% less energy than regular drying models.
Heat pump dryers are more expensive, but can save you money on your electric bill over time.
Yes! When your lint trap is clogged, airflow inside the dryer is hindered. Your dryer has to work longer to evaporate all the water in your clothes if it can’t get hot air flowing through the drum.
Running your dryer less often and cleaning the lint trap between uses can significantly lower your electricity bill.
Air drying consumes zero electricity and is the most energy efficient method. If you don’t have the luxury of air drying, you can always dry your clothes partially with a drying rack and finish them in the dryer. Will this also save you money on electricity?
You can improve drying efficiency by:
Opting for high spin speeds when washing
Cleaning your lint trap and vents
Only drying similar fabrics in the same load
Avoiding overloading your dryer
Use sensor drying cycles
Running multiple dry cycles back-to-back.
