Heat Pump Dryer

[David Winans]

New to the group.  Thanks Kjell for the invite!  Thought I would share our experience with our now 8 month old heat pump dryer.   Three reasons for the purchase: 

1.  To replace our old dryer which was worn out. 

2. To avoid the maintenance headaches we have had with keeping our overly long dryer vent clear of lint.  Lint build up elongated drying times, wasted energy & caused multiple replacements of tired thermal fuses.

3. To save energy and try out new technology which I could then recommend to my MF clients.  They are supposed to use 40-50% of the energy of a standard dryer.

So far, it has performed well, but does have a few quirks.

1. It takes a bit longer to run a cycle (about 90 min), but the clothes dry well.   They are also gentler on  clothes since they dry at a lower temp.

2. It is a bit louder than our old dryer, but not bad.  You can hear water pumping out every so often to the washer drain box.  We have a laundry room door we can close, but this is something to consider in a small apartment or adjacent to an acoustically sensitive area.

3. It generates a lot of heat in the laundry room since there is no exhaust duct to release heat to the exterior.  It does not feel humid, just warm.  In the winter, this is welcome as 'free' space heating.  We typically leave the room door open or run the exhaust fan if we want less noise.  Running an exhaust fan cuts in to overall energy savings. 

4. There are two lint filters to maintain and the lower one tends to have a little condensation build up at the opening which needs to be cleared to avoid odors.

Here is the model we bought and PSE provided a $100 rebate, so pricing was pretty close to a standard front loader.

https://www.albertlee.biz/product/whirlpool-74-cu-ft-white-front-load-electric-dryer-wed5620hw-214831

[Mike O'Brien]

David - I am just now in the market for a new dryer, so this is amazing timing.  Thanks so much for sharing.  I will be talking to Albert Lee this week.

Thanks, Mike

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[Jeffrey Floor]

Interesting that none of the literature makes any mention of energy efficiency, or of heat-pump technology. It just says "electric".  You'd think that they'd make some marketing hay out of that.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/seattle-home-electrification/CAF9WJiR-UBdhxpr2kLExt_-XNo7ksfgqKw%2BWYPvm%3D8R-5DtnrA%40mail.gmail.com.

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[Mike O'Brien]

David -

Might the link to the whirlpool model be the wrong one? Albert Lee appears to have a number of heat pump units but that one doesn’t seem to be one. 

Mike O'Brien 

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 23, 2021, at 10:44 PM, Jeffrey Floor <jsf...@gmail.com> wrote:



[Rachel Koller]

Hi All,

We have a Beko heat pump dryer (link) purchased at Albert Lee's 'garage sale' a year and a half ago (we spent $1600 on washer/dryer combo), and totally agree with David's assessment of the quirks. 

Add'l thought - It's a small dryer, which is fine for a family of 3 but might be more challenging for a large family. We've found that sheets in particular get balled up and then not evenly dried due to the size of the drum.

To be honest, it's been great for our move to electrification (we had a gas dryer previously), and energy savings, but compared to a standard electric dryer it's not perfect! I'm fine with the tradeoffs, but I feel like for many American families used to a jet engine blasting your clothes dry, it could still be a hard sell.  

-Rachel

[Katherine Leggett]

Hi everyone, 

I have a friend who is interested in getting solar to heat the water of her outdoor pool, and I told her I would check with this group. All the companies that she has spoken with have pushed for efficient gas or a combo of gas/heat pump - but she does not want gas. 

Does anyone have suggestions for companies she can contact, or other ideas? 

Thank you! 

Katherine 

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[Jonlin, Duane]

Katherine,

A heat pump can certainly be sized large enough to keep the pool water heated, without need for gas backup.

Use of the pool during cold winter weather would require a much larger heat pump, but is still doable.

Using a pool cover to slow the heat loss when the pool is not in use will save a lot of energy.

I am not in favor of solar water heaters - too many moving parts and too variable depending on cloud cover and length of day. An array of PV panels on the roof can be used to "bank" solar power with the local utility year round, which can then be "withdrawn" when the pool heater is running. Some people have built little pool shelters with the PV panels mounted on top, where roof space was scarce.

DJ

Duane Jonlin, FAIA Energy Code and Energy Conservation Advisor City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections P.O. Box 34019, Seattle, WA 98124-4019 P: 206.233.2781 |  duane.jonlin@seattle.gov

As stewards and regulators of land and buildings, we preserve and enhance the equity, livability, safety and health in our communities. SDCI’s offices are closed to in-person services until further notice. Visit the SDCI website and read our Building Connections blog for service change updates. Thank you for your continued flexibility and patience as we provide online services to help reduce the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

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From: seattle-home-e...@googlegroups.com <seattle-home-e...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Katherine Leggett <katf...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2021 9:24 PM
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Subject: Re: Heat Pump Dryer

 

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[Brad Liljequist]

We have had the Whirlpool now for several years and honestly I really don't like it - I don't think it was ready for prime time.  I do love the captured heat aspect; however the lint just is a problem.  We did cut out the little screen to get at the condenser fins but that's just too finicky.  I would be so so happy if there was a proper full sized Euro unit made - my understanding is the small Mieles work great.