[Greenbuilding] ENERGY STAR Clothes Dryers Program Launch

[Matt Dirksen]

Because dryers are currently "the most energy intensive activity in the home" is precisely why they should have been on EnergyStar's list in the first place...

... As long as the goals are designed to encourage innovation.

Look what happened to all the various products over the years since EnergyStar began. 

Line drying is a fantastic choice, once the reasons for doing it outweigh the reasons for not. I am just as dumbfounded by the HOA's which don't allow the practice because it's an "eyesore", as I am with people that have no tolerance for consumers who choose to buy and use a dryer. 

There is NOTHING on EnergyStar's list that is a requirement for healthy living. I have an EnergyStar dishwasher, but we are entirely convinced that for 80 percent of the time, our hand washing habits are FAR more efficient than the dishwasher. The other 20 percent of the time, we use the appliance. Yes I have read all the data put out on the contrary (by the dishwasher manufacturers of course), but my observations over he years have persuaded me otherwise.

If my wife and two out of three of my children did not have allergy issues, and the concern of Lyme disease were to suddenly disappear, line drying would be a more common practice in my household - once again. 

And to be honest, 90 degree days with 80-95 percent RH are difficult conditions to persuade anyone to go outside and hang up their clothes to dry - if in fact they ever do. Of course I imagine that's just what people did earlier this month after the Derecho we had.

( And I thank all of you for the discussion. If anything, it has convinced me to at least TRY to pull the line out again.)

Matt



On Jul 20, 2012, at 9:44 PM, John Beeson - Sunny Side Up <emailme0617 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Matt, the energy profile on clothes dryers showcases it as the most energy intensive item in the house (more than a refrigerator - it's just that the refrigerator is running all the time, while a clothes dryer is perhaps daily +/-).