The Results Are In... And Its Not What You Think..! Miele T1 HP vs LG Vented Dryer

[matthewza]

So after spending this weekend with my handy watt meter, measuring the cost per drying cycle in my LG vented American style/size dryer, and comparing that to what I could theoretically spend if I had a Miele T1 HP. And honestly, I am not sure what to do with this info..

So for context, our current laundry setup is a Miele W1 WKH121 Twindos Powerwash 8kg 1600rpm FL, and my trusty LG 10kg Vented steam dryer. The LG dryers gets through loads very quickly, even on low heat, thanks to its size, heater size (machine is rated 3100W), and of course the fact that we have a 1600 spin washing machine, so theres not much residual moisture to begin with. We did have an 18% electricity tarrif hike in July (as well as an annual 8% rental increase), and coupled with a very wet and cold winter, I thought it might be time to look into a HP dryer. We stay in an apartment, and we do still hang dry a portion of our laundry (The items that generally dhrink in the dryer, like t-shirts and hoodies and jeans), but our HOA for the complex does not permit drying racks on our balconies, so ours stands in our spare bedroom which gets all day sun and a breeze, but when its raining or the max temp for the day was only 16C, laundry can tend to hang for 2 days.

Anyway, I ran these tests to see if the potential savings could justify the large capital outlay for the new dryer.

I have attaced screenshots of the results, and would really appreciate input from those who ahve made the switch to HP, and whether or not this is indeed worth our while to switch.

Turns out our current setup is a lot more efficient than I thought it would be, and that a vented dryer can be run eficiently, if paired with a good enough washing machine. I am thinking it may not be worth the upgrade, and that if I do go ahead, it would be more because I can, more so than for the energy savings.

The Miele HP dryers that I am looking at are:

A)TWD440 8kg EcoSpeed A+++ (ZAR 10 999 through unboxed)
B)TWL 780 9kg EcoSpeed & Steam A+++ (ZAR 17 999 through unboxed)

These are currently on offer through Miele's unboxed outlet, where they sell ex display stock from their show rooms, and these are almost half off because they are ex display, so incredible deals. Same prices as if I were too look at a Grundig 8kg HP or AEG 7000 series HP. I did mention in my previous thread that Miele SA also has a huge deal on the TWR 860 with M-Touch, but after more research, that model does not seem to fature EcoSpeed, and from research, the models with EcoSpeed come very highly recommened over those without. Also, the TWL 780 is now half the price of the TWR 860, due to it coming from the unboxed outlet. For the price, the TWD440 is very good value, but I really love the glass door on the TWL780, and the fact that it features the Automatic Plus cycle (which research has shown is great for a mixed load)

Looking forward to hearing everyones thoughts on whether or not to look into making this switch from vented to HP.

 

[littlegreeny]

I'd stick to your current setup as it would probably take years to recoup the costs of a new dryer.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Vented to HP

I wouldn't. It seems like your energy cost is about double what mine is. However, the savings of ~$2 a month is negligible especially considering the initial purchase price. It would make more sense to me to start drying the work shirts and work pants at 'Less Dry' versus 'Normal Dry' and save about the same amount while reducing the HVAC demand. Just my 2¢.

 

[matthewza]

Thank you both for your input. You're right - if I look at the energy savings alone, it would take over 20 years to recoup the money spent on the dryer. Which is not near worth the spend on the new machine in that regard. I really did not expect my current setup to be as efficient as what it is.

Not going to lie - there is a small part of me that still wants a Miele dryer, but after this experiment, I know it will only be so that I can say I have a Miele dryer.

@lakewebsterkid - very interesting point you made about dropping down 1 dryness level - fortunately, homes and apartments in SA don't have central HVAC/Heating/Cooling systems, so that's not a factor at all for us. Our dryer stands in our spare bedroom, with the vent pipe hanging out the window - our climate allows for such setups. Most people with vented dryers don't even attach vent pipes - they just vent into the room they're in.

Also, after re-reading my original post - I must apologise for all the typos - was clearly speed typing and not checking my spelling.

 

[launderess]

Vented clothes dryers in many metrics will beat any sort of condenser including heat pump.

Main argument some have against vented dryers is they pull mechanically heated or cooled air out of a home and exhaust it outdoors after use. That may be true but for many households there are good parts of year when they are not using heating or air conditioning.

All dryers are more efficient when more moisture has been extracted from laundry via spin drying.

Basically lower the residual moisture content of a wash load leads to faster drying times using less energy.

http://wiki.zero-emissions.at/index.php?title=Drying_of_clothes

https://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/washing-machine-spin-speeds/

Laws of diminishing returns does kick in at some point however. Biggest gains come at going from 800/900 rpm final speed to 1100/1200. More still at 1400 or perhaps 1600 rpms, but things level off afterwards (say 1800 rpms).

In battle between traditional condenser dryers versus heat pump latter have an edge energy. Latter doesn't rely upon differences between high heat and ambient temps to cause condensation thus can operate at lower temps

https://www.aeg.co.uk/support/suppo...l has an,however energy saving is significant.

 

[launderess]

Another interesting tidbit is that laundry rinsed in warm water dries faster and uses less energy than cold. This is one reason why commercial/industrial laundries rinse in warm water, not cold.

Back during 1970's energy crisis when there was a heat on against washing machines offering warm rinses, Consumer Reports and others basically said "yes, cold rinsing does increase drying costs, but countered against cost and energy used to heat water better to go with cold water".

 

[henene4]

Buying any new appliances because of some energy savings rarely makes financial sense if the old one still runs.
Often, even ecologically, it does not.

There are a few examples where that isn't true, like with refrigeration appliances in the EU that are 20 years or older.
There, you often cut energy usage in half over a year.

The HP dryer will be way more efficient - but it's a huge investment.
It only runs every so often, so it's not a consistent high usage.

But, any load you listed, the HP dryer should do with 1kWh or less.

 

[logixx]

This load of towels spun at 1,200 rpm consumed 0.89 kWh. That being said: yeah, replacing something just to save energy doesn't always make sense.