The new EU dryer energy label is rolling out

[henene4]

As of today, you are allowed to display the new label.
There is a 14 day period for everybody to switch over the displays, so it'll take a few days for it to show up everywhere.
Only exception is for the edge case that the manufacturer of an appliance has gone out of business and can't re-supply the new label for old stock. In that case those specific appliances can be sold for up to 9 months with only the old label.

Many things are as expected.
Condenser dryers are now rated G.
Many heat pump dryers are either D or C. Many are condensation class D now - the worst class possible.
A few A dryers are available - Samsung and AEG/ELux. But I think only the ELux design is quadruple A.
A few more Bs are available - naming the VZug TOL dryer explicitly as that is only B in many ratings despite being that expensive.


A few things are unexpected.
The approximate mapping of old to new is that A++ is now D, A+++ is C, -10% is B and -25% is A.
However, as the testing is somewhat different, that isn't the case every time.
BSH's TOL dryer used to be -10% - and now is "only" C, makeing BSH one of the few brand name manufacturers with no B rated dryer at the start.
LGs recent US size DD dryer was A+++ and now is only D.

It also shows that you can build competitive appliances without changing the base design.
But if you want to get up there, you do need some design changes. Samsung appears to only have changed the compressor and programming, but does not get to the quadruple A.
ELux had to redesign the entire machine base and switch around air flow components to get there.



So yeah, just a small summary for that change.
Especially with dryers, the energy label has much more connection to real life usage than with DWs or washers, so I think that's a welcome change.

 

[logixx]

I updated the labels on the dryers I have on display yesterday (with the old labels stuck into the user manual that's in the drum).

As you'd expect, the difference isn't huge between A and C, especially considering that these A models retail for almost 1200 Euros - almost twice as much as the most popular C dryers.

I did a very simple calculation for my coworkers and customers, where the outcome was that it would take 55 years to recoup the purchase cost through energy savings. I just had to because I already know I'll have customers whining about dryers suddenly be rated C (as if they'd use more power than before) so I'll shut their argumentation right down.

Ah yes, retail.

Besides, according to eprel website, there's also this Hisense. https://at.hisense.com/produkte/was...I104BWAB-DH5I104BWAB-HSN/p/000000000020015578

 

[mrstickball]

There are huge energy savings available on heat pump vs. vented tumble dryers. At least in America. One issue we have here is HVAC having to do replacement or makeup conditioned air in the room or house that has the air sucked out and vented outside. If you measure it properly, about 40-50% of whatever electricity you use to run the tumble cycle, ends up costing your HVAC system (really, its a 1:1 ratio but the COP of air conditioning/heaters are typically a lot better than resistive heat tumble dryers).

But phasing them out. Yuck. Like Logixx said, the problem is the payoff period against some dryers is abysmal, much less what kind of reduction in lifespan you may get from running inverters vs. traditional controls, and such.

 

[launderess]

There are whole long periods of year when one isn't using central heating nor air conditioning. As such there isn't any "loss" of mechanically heated or cooled air by using vented clothes dryer.

Furthermore where possible most will use natural gas for clothes dryers over electricity. Unless blessed living in an area of USA with low rates otherwise electricity rates often are dear. This makes natural gas a better option.

 

[henene4]

Natural gas is currently an option - but in about 25 years it just won't be - or shouldn't be at least.
Electricity can be produced emissions free - both locally and through the supply chain - and producing combustion fuels through electro-chemical ways just for such applications isn't really viable and probably will never be.


Replacing a working appliance with a new one for energy savings is rarely makes sense financially or ecologically.
But, at replacement, it often is - at least ecologically.
And even financially: The EU basically showed how it goes. 25 years ago HP dryers were expensive and only made sense in certain situations. Now, heat pump dryers are as cheap as any normal dryer ever was, uses half the electricity and are often just about as fast.
I'm willing to bet that - given LGs HP dryer offering is often just about the price of the next model up vented version - that the US will go the same way.



On the topic of 55 years to recoup:
I know that with customers and sales, you really gotta dumb it down to the extreme.
But I think the story is somewhat more nuanced.
The current A class dryers are all TOL machines - of course you can get a C class dryer for half the price or less, but it's not quite the same.
Add to that that usage profile still plays a huge role that can drastically change.
300€ difference works out to about 900kWh you would have to save to break even - on AEGs B vs A class dryers that would equate to just about 7500 cycles according to the new label.
I don't think those dryers will last that long - but I know people who would dry a load a day on average, and that's just about 20 years of usage then.

But yeah - unless you want that specific dryer, C class is still probably the best to go for.