[Greenbuilding] FW: ENERGY STAR Clothes Dryers Program Launch

[Steven Tjiang]

Sorry, might be TL;DnR

My bosch front loader has a max-spin cycle which leaves clothes feeling
quite a bit dryer than the regular spin cycle.  I haven't measured the
drying time difference so it's hard to say whether it's subjective or fact.
Anybody have measured this.  It's probably difficult to measure unless the
difference is huge.  But this must have been studied.

On the broader topic of Energy Star standards for Clothes Dryer: It's about
fr*gging time! While many purists on this lists insists that the
traditional line drying is the best and I agree --- that kind of cajoling
and nagging will only go so far for the masses; and in the limit the
naggers will be labelled as either pests or luddites and curmudgeons, which
in the end does not serve the "cause".

The reality is that there is so many ways to improve clothes drying, as
this thread shows.  And anything that preserves convenience but saves
energy will be a net win.

Europeans own far fewer dryers, relying instead of drying closets and other
"almost" passive means.  But wealthier europeans have dryers.  When I was
in Switzerland in February, I noticed one appliance store had
exclusively *"heat
pump" clothes* dryer that promise amazing low energy usage: it's a
condensing dryer that extracts heat to condense moisture and then actively
pumps the heat back into dry air that picks up more moisture from the
tumbling clothes.  Very clever.  Since this is close to thermodynamically
"downhill" *I suspect the COP is pretty good*.  Anybody know?

---- Steve (KZ6LSD)


On Sat, Jul 21, 2012 at 4:45 AM, John Gabel <jfgabel at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have used the Spin-x spinner in the past. It would take an extra quart
> of water out of a load of laundry. This was when I was using a top loader.
> The clothes actually felt almost dry after the spin. I have since switched
> to a front loader which does a better job spinning. Not as good as the
> spinner though. However, good enough for my wife. She doesn't like the
> extra step if not very necessary.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jul 20, 2012, at 11:17 AM, RON RANCOURT <ronrancourt at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I've been wanting to try a clothes spinner to get more water out than
> > my spin cycle can manage.  Anyone have an opinion / experience using
> > these?
> >
> > Ron Rancourt
> >
> > On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 1:21 AM, Reuben Deumling <9watts at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 10:06 PM, Matt Dirksen <dirksengreen at gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> I can then logically assume that a more efficient car isn't going to
> solve
> >>> anything either.... Speaking of peak oil. :)
> >>
> >> Yes.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On a personal note, we really, really tried to line dry all our
> clothes,
> >>> but when it came down to having to stick them back in the dryer
> afterward,
> >>> due to the pounds of pollen on three kids worth of laundry, and the
> constant
> >>> fear of deer tick exposure (Greenbelt, MD)... It became quite
> difficult for
> >>> the sake of a few kWh's of electricity.
> >>
> >> You think allergies are bad now. Wait until we experience the full
> effects
> >> of clothes dryer and air conditioner exacerbated climate change.
> >>
> http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-change-expands-allergy-risk
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> The least the DoE can do is create a goal so high that the companies
> will
> >>> have to think differently in order to achieve it... Especially if they
> all
> >>> work on the same principle.
> >>
> >>
> >> That is not, generally, how DOE works. They don't set targets high. The
> >> point is to sell more appliances, accelerate product turnover, not to
> reduce
> >> energy consumption.  Generally appliance efficiency standards don't make
> >> much of a dent in electricity consumption overall. We are plenty clever
> as a
> >> species and keep thinking of new or additional ways to consume
> electricity
> >> that eats up what little may have been saved at the device level....
> moral
> >> hazard, rebound effect, Jevons' paradox; we have a lot of names for the
> >> failure of energy efficiency as practiced to curb our appetite for kWh.
> >>
> >>
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