Saving energy or money, Channel 4 Unpacked.

[ericmark]

I watched just in case something new, balls in the tumble drier, not seen before. But more fun counting how many times she says "I'm on a mission.". The film on the window also good.

Shows loads of pictures of TRV's, but nothing about how to use them.

Tumble driers, they said three types, vented, condensing and heat pump, I thought heat pump is a condensing tumble drier? But they seem to think the vented uses more than non heat pump condensing, but I found my vented set to 1 kW was nearly the same as the heat pump one that replaced it, main thing about my vented was I could select 1 kW or 2 kW so fast or economical, the condensing type, I can't select 1 or 2 kW.

How the heat pump drier users worked out savings, I don't know. I have tried to work it out, and no two loads use the same amount of energy.

Wonder how much my cat flap costs in lost energy.

 

[Wayners]

I made a box to fit over cat flap to seal off at night and sometimes in the day

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Tumble driers, they said three types, vented, condensing and heat pump, I thought heat pump is a condensing tumble drier?

Not necessarily. Our old washer drier, condenses, but makes use of a flow of cold water, to cool a surface, upon which the condenation forms.

 

[flameport]

Tumble driers, they said three types, vented, condensing and heat pump, I

Vented are the old type containing a heating element and a fan which blows the hot air over the clothes and then out through a hole in the wall.
Very few dryers available now are that type, their only benefit is that they are the cheapest to buy.

Condensing are the same thing with an added cooling plate so that water condenses either in a tray or is pumped out through a pipe.
This allegedly removes the need to vent them outside. Actual truth of this claim may vary.

Both of the above cost the same to operate, as in a lot.

Heat pump dryers contain a compressor type dehumidifier instead of the clothing burner heating element.
They use significantly less energy however do take longer to dry items and can only be used in well heated environments such as inside a normal house.
Totally unsuitable for use in unheated garages and the like.
Most dryers available today are the heat pump type.

 

[aveatry]

Wonder how much my cat flap costs in lost energy.

So you have a cat - you also need to work out its BTU when it is sitting on your lap and so saving you energy on your heating,

 

[ericmark]

Either the dryer blows the water outside or it condenses it onto a cold surface and it is collected or pumped away.

There are three common ways to condense water, air or refrigeration.

And two common ways to heat, a resistive element or heat pump.

The condenser dryer can old be turned on or off. It does not matter what cools it. The vented however can have diffrent heat setting, And these will change how fast it dries clothes.

So a 800 watt vented will take around same time as a 600 watt heat pump. Clearly heat pump slightly better.

But you simply can't get low powered condenser driers unless it uses a heat pump.

So with a load every 3 hours, heat pump best, then vented, the water or air cooled condenser.

With load every hour, heat pump is knocked out as can't dry that fast, so condenser beats vented.

But to compare one must include time it takes.

 

[justigator]

So you have a cat - you also need to work out its BTU when it is sitting on your lap and so saving you energy on your heating,

But you will also have to offset the cost of food and vets' bills.

 

[drives]

They use significantly less energy however do take longer to dry items and can only be used in well heated environments such as inside a normal house.
Totally unsuitable for use in unheated garages and the like.
Most dryers available today are the heat pump type.

Ours is in an unheated utility room at the back of our garage, which gets cold, and it works fine. Doesn't make any discernible difference to drying time, or cost.