Ventless heat pump clothes dryer
jackofalltrades777
| Posted in General Questions on
Would a ventless heat pump dryer contribute to indoor humidity and heat levels?
I thought the unit was all self-contained and would NOT contribute to increasing moisture and heat in the room it was located in. If anything, it would only dispense water from the drain line into a sink drain but that’s about it. Am I wrong?
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Replies
Peter,
Like any device that uses electricity, a heat-pump clothes dryer is an internal heat load. If the appliance is rated at 500 watts, then it will contribute 500 watts of heat to the room where it is located whenever it is operating.
As far as I know, a heat-pump clothes dryer won't add any significant amount of moisture to the room -- although if some moisture from the clothes evaporates instead of condensing and dripping down the drain, a small amount of moisture could be added to the room. (When you think about it, simply transferring damp clothes from a washer to a dryer will add some moisture to the air in the room.)
For more information on heat-pump clothes dryers, see Alternatives to Clothes Dryers.
There still isn't a heat pump dryer available in the US that I have found
you do not need to wait for one to be available,
and it will be expensive at first.
Build a tall closet in your laundry room.
Make it water proof using your material of choice.
Run an efficient quality dehumidifier in the closet where you hang clothes.
If required finish drying clothes in regular dryer.
Also alot of newer dryers have eco options,
such as running cycles of heat and heatless air.
Problem in cold climates is that these cycles run longer, and use more of interior air .
Running a dehumidifier in cold climate during winter time is less of a loss because the heat produced is actually used, and if the house has low RH%.
Kevin: Whirlpool says it will start selling a heat pump dryer in the US late this year. It'll be cheaper and easier than Jin's solution, I suspect.
I like the idea of using a dryer without needing a big hole in the wall.
4".... Giant hole in the wall
Larger than a mere quark
Smaller than a parallel universe
Not a black hole especially
Wholely worth a cosmic comet comment or two too?
Whirlpool just announced (July/August 2014) that they will sell a ventless heat pump dryer in the USA.
As per the press release:
"the ventless dryer technology will allow consumers in North America to reduce their carbon footprint and the estimated $4B in wasted energy attributed to dryers. As a ventless technology, HybridCare™ does not require an outside vent, allowing the consumer to install it in more locations throughout the home. Whirlpool will begin shipping units to select U.S. markets in Q4 2014. It will expand to other U.S. markets and Canada in early 2015, generating excitement among some major utilities."
http://investors.whirlpoolcorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=860720
Would a ventless heat pump dryer contribute to indoor humidity and heat levels?
No, and here is why: "Whirlpool brand HybridCare™ dryer is a ventless heat pump dryer that uses a refrigeration system to dry and recycle the same air. "
Key words "refrigeration system".....ambient air is dehumidified by the refrigerant coil, heat is generated by the condenser and a back up heating coil in the dryer, both recycled. Two phase change vapor-liquid-mixture to superheated-vapor evaporator.
Wow superb!! about time they get on with the program !
yes the 4" air exhaust matter as much as the energy used.
AJ : ahah u are incredible :)
Took delivery of my Whirlpool heat pump dryer a couple of days ago. Wrote up my first impressions here:
http://www.prettygoodlakehouse.com/2015/01/heat-pump-dryer.html
Joe: keep us posted. I'll need to make a dryer choice in a month or so. You got a decent price. I've seen it listed at $300 more.
For those who are planning net zero houses, using the kWh/yr estimate from Energy Star for a typical family, the savings looks to be about 250kWh/yr for the Whirlpool HP-dryer (compared to a conventional exhaust dryer). Assuming ~1,300kWh/kW production from a PV system and $3/W installed price, this unit would save a little less than $600 on your PV system....of course, there's no federal/state incentives for HP-dryers, AFAIK.
Do we have info about the energy impact of the venting action on regular dryers?