Are we there yet? Heat pump dryers

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warmsecondrinse

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Just a few weeks ago I read (sorry, I forget where) yet again about heat pump dryers being sold/about to be sold in the U.S. by Miele, LG, etc.

I did some googling and found nothing recent. To muddy the waters further, it was obvious that some of the writers/posters assumed that any ventless dryer was automatically a heat pump dryer simply because it was ventless. Yes, I know that makes no sense, but there you are...

My conclusion is that there are no heat pump dryers currently sold in the U.S. However, I'd love to be wrong. Does any one know of any heat pump dryers actually for sale in the USA?

Thanks,

Jim
 
That's what I thought. I was sure that if heat pump dryers really were available I'd've heard about it here or from some other reliable source.

I'll only go ventless if I absolutely have to in order to avoid the laundromat.

Thanks again.
 
LG is goint to release its DLHX4072V Hybrid heat-pump dryer this summer, according to Consumer Reports. It has a heat-pumo and a conventionlal electric heating element, thus the Hybrid. These units have been available, although in a smaller 24" version, in Europe for some time.

 
Malcolm,

Condenser dryers always take longer to dry than vented. 151.2 minutes to dry 9kg of laundry isn't too bad for a condenser dryer. My last dryer, a condenser unit, took 2 hours to dry 5kg of laundry. I now have a vented dryer, thankfully, an can do 6kg in less than an hour.
 
Heat-pump dryers are generally not that fast. There were some that were alsmost as fast a normal condenser dryers but the consumer is always looking for the next best ultra-efficient appliance. Therefore, heat-pump dryers got slower and slower.

With a full 8 kg load, which is 17.6 lbs, of standardized cotton items spun at 1,000 rpm, which translates to a residual moisture content of 60%, I have found the following times stated on the manufacturer's websites:

Miele A++ efficiency = 149 minutes

Bosch A+++ efficiency = 187 minutes
Bosch A++ efficiency = 138 minutes

AEG A+++ efficiency = 215 minutes
AEG A++ efficiency = 170 minutes

Keep in mind that the drums of these dryers are about half the size of US dryers, while the load capacity is almost the same - we're talking about a FULL drum of clothes here.

Switzerland has already outlawed anything but HP dryers to be sold and vented dryers are rapidly disappearing from manufacturer's homepages, too. I'm glad I got my hands on a regular condenser Bosch that gets things over with in around an hour and would most certainly buy a vented dryer if I could.
 
As one recalls dryers here in the USA are not subject to much energy regulation because they all pretty much are the same. What does vary is heating power and source of fuel.

Some places such as California IIRC want residents to move away from electric to gas dryers or maybe I've got that in reverse.

Where electric power rates are cheaper than gas (natural or propane) that is usually what people have installed, or again vice-versa. Here in NYC aside from small compact units/portables most every dryer I've seen or known uses natural or propane gas.
 
dryers in the USA are not subject to much energy regulation

Well, that used to be the case in Europe as well. But then heat-pump dryers entered the scene and made "normal" dryers look like huge energy hogs. Just look at Switzerland; they basically made anything but heapt-pump dryers illegal - from sale, owning one is still okay. ;)

Even commercial models, both small and large, are offered in HP versions from Miele, for example. And said company has already removed vented dryers from its US homepage altogether.
 
Prius Market

Perhaps the Prius marketplace will purchase these, but the average American will pass on them. Clothes would dry quicker on a clothesline, but wait, we cannot have those either. Seems our Energy focus is off track somehow.

Malcolm
 
I'm with Mrb627

Cannot see these heat pump dryers giving any major competition to what most Americans are used to having.

Miele's large vented dryer to match the 4XXX series washers was simply a hot mess. IIRC it was the first such dryer especially in gas that Miele had built and it like the washers of the series had all kinds of problems.

The "Little Giant" series vented dryer is still sold in North America, but yes Miele has discontinued their "standard European capacity" models of same. You can still find them in shops or other vendors but once the supply is gone that is that.

The decision to move away from vented dryers will add yet another nail into Miele's coffin in terms of US sales. You can look all over the Internet and classified adverts and find washers and dryers from that brand for sale, some NIB. The capacity is just too small for most American households, and non-vented dryers simply are hated by and large with a passion.

Miele, Asko, Bosch et al, all have made serious mistakes with the American domestic laundry appliance market. The USA is *NOT* Europe and often aside from trendy and or upscale early adaptors the general population at large does not care for their offerings.

When Miele launched with great fanfare their uber-sized laundry appliances they were supposed to be near commercial quality and rock solid to go up against Whirlpool's Duet. Well we know how it ended and the things were pulled from the market barely three years or so after introduction.
 
Funny, I had to think of Prius owners as well. I remember seeing tons of them in Los Angeles. Everywhere.

Just browsing a few websites

bosch.de - 2 vented, 7 condenser, 24 heat-pump dryers
siemens.de - 2 vented, 8 condenser, 17 heat-pump dryers
miele.de - 1 vented, 9 condenser, 14 heat-pump dryers
aeg.de - 3 vented, 9 condenser, 21 heat-pump dryers
lg.de - only heat-pump dryers

amazon.de - 28 vented, 108 condenser, 167 heat-pump dryers

Seems that we're once again at the forefront of the green movement. Not sure if I really like that, though. Saving energy is great but tumbling clothes for up to three hours won't do them much good. So you save energy but spend more on clothes?
 
<a name="start_51687.741118">"Miele has discontinued their "standard European capacity" </a><a name="start_51687.741118">[vented] </a><a name="start_51687.741118">models"</a>

 

And so has Bosch USA. :-/

 

Maybe I should get another dryer for storage. Vented dryers to us are like Speed Queen top loaders to you - get them while you can or go vintage. I wish American dryers were more readily available but they really only seem to pop up on eBay UK - used, of course.
 
Bosch USA also like MieleUSA discontinued their "uber" sized laundry appliances after series of problems. The "Nexxt" series like the Miele huge capacity washers and dryers promised commercial quality in domestic machines, but again it didn't work out.

This is why I say various "imported" technology is not always a hit with the American market. Long as there are plenty of persons with reference points to top loaders and fast vented dryers that is the standard everything else is measured.
 

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