Tumble dryer power consumption

[Cursitor Doom]

HI guys,

Can anyone give a guestimate of how much power the heating elements of a
typical condensing tumble dryer use up on a) low and b) high power?
I'm not concerned with power used up by the motor and control circuitry,
just the heater coils. Cheers.
cd.

[harryagain]

"Cursitor Doom" <c...@notterriblyvalid.org> wrote in message
news:l7tpsm$164$1...@dont-email.me...

If you are talking about a conventional one, no-one can say, you would have
to measure it with one of those plug in meters.
Some librarys lend them out.

Condensing tumble dryers use much less electricity.
Or just hang your washing outside/in conservatory etc.

[fred]

In article <l7tpsm$164$1...@dont-email.me>, Cursitor Doom
<c...@notterriblyvalid.org> writes

Look at the spec plate, every appliance has one.

Alternatively, look at sample model data on the manufacturer's website.
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

[Phil]

A 'typical' tumbly is 1kW low & 2kW high. YMMV.

[Colin Stamp]

Try Googling for "tumble dryer element". The suppliers normally quote
the power on the website.

Cheers,

Colin.

[John Rumm]

On 07/12/2013 00:24, Cursitor Doom wrote:

Normally 1 to 2kw depending on the setting.


--
Cheers,

John.

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[John Rumm]

Usually they use more... and extra kWh per load is not uncommon.
However, the heat is then vented into the building rather than outside
of it, which changes the apparent cost somewhat.

[Graham.]

On Sat, 07 Dec 2013 15:20:24 +0000, John Rumm
<see.my.s...@nowhere.null> wrote:

>On 07/12/2013 08:51, harryagain wrote:
>> "Cursitor Doom" <c...@notterriblyvalid.org> wrote in message
>> news:l7tpsm$164$1...@dont-email.me...
>>> HI guys,
>>>
>>> Can anyone give a guestimate of how much power the heating elements of a
>>> typical condensing tumble dryer use up on a) low and b) high power?
>>> I'm not concerned with power used up by the motor and control circuitry,
>>> just the heater coils. Cheers.
>>> cd.
>>
>>
>> If you are talking about a conventional one, no-one can say, you would have
>> to measure it with one of those plug in meters.
>> Some librarys lend them out.
>>
>> Condensing tumble dryers use much less electricity.
>
>Usually they use more... and extra kWh per load is not uncommon.
>However, the heat is then vented into the building rather than outside
>of it, which changes the apparent cost somewhat.

The OP asked about power not energy (maybe the answer would have been
the same for a typical domestic dryer).

Harry went on to mention "electricity" I don't know if that is power
or energy.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

[Colin Stamp]

I'm guessing Harry was confusing "condensing" with "heat-pump".

Cheers,

Colin.

[Cursitor Doom]

Well the 1 to 2kw estimates some peeps have made do fit in with my
observations. I have two 42 ohm coils and according to which topology I
choose, I can wire 'em up to provide between about 600W and 2.3kw. I just
needed an approximate idea and how I have one, thanks!

[RJH]

On 07/12/2013 00:24, Cursitor Doom wrote:

My Beko DCU 8230 condenser is 4.7kWh full load cotton, 2.5kWh cotton
partial load. Various efficiency figures are given, all above 89%.

I wouldn't consider it to be a particular eco-hooligan - it's rated 'B'
and has lower running costs than the feature equivalent Bosch. And it
was less than half the price.

--
Cheers, Rob

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sat, 07 Dec 2013 19:36:07 +0000, RJH wrote:

> My Beko DCU 8230 condenser is 4.7kWh full load cotton, 2.5kWh cotton
> partial load. Various efficiency figures are given, all above 89%.
>
> I wouldn't consider it to be a particular eco-hooligan - it's rated 'B'
> and has lower running costs than the feature equivalent Bosch. And it
> was less than half the price.

Presumably that includes the power taken by the motor under heavy load,
though. We need to strip that part out to make your findings relevant to
original question which was related to the power consumption of the
heating coils alone.

[RJH]

Ah yes probably - I'm just reading the 'energy consumption' figures from
the card supplied. Even so, that's quite a lot from the motor.

--
Cheers, Rob

[Colin Stamp]

To find out the power from the kWh figure you have, you'd need to divide
by the number of hours the machine takes to do the drying.

It'd have to be more than an hour and a half to use up 4.7kWh since the
maximum allowable consumption from a 13A plug is about 3kW.

Cheers,

Colin.

[John Rumm]

On 07/12/2013 16:55, Graham. wrote:

> On Sat, 07 Dec 2013 15:20:24 +0000, John Rumm
> <see.my.s...@nowhere.null> wrote:
>
>> On 07/12/2013 08:51, harryagain wrote:
>>> "Cursitor Doom" <c...@notterriblyvalid.org> wrote in message
>>> news:l7tpsm$164$1...@dont-email.me...
>>>> HI guys,
>>>>
>>>> Can anyone give a guestimate of how much power the heating elements of a
>>>> typical condensing tumble dryer use up on a) low and b) high power?
>>>> I'm not concerned with power used up by the motor and control circuitry,
>>>> just the heater coils. Cheers.
>>>> cd.
>>>
>>>
>>> If you are talking about a conventional one, no-one can say, you would have
>>> to measure it with one of those plug in meters.
>>> Some librarys lend them out.
>>>
>>> Condensing tumble dryers use much less electricity.
>>
>> Usually they use more... and extra kWh per load is not uncommon.
>> However, the heat is then vented into the building rather than outside
>> of it, which changes the apparent cost somewhat.


> The OP asked about power not energy (maybe the answer would have been
> the same for a typical domestic dryer).

Indeed, which is why I quoted typical power figures.

> Harry went on to mention "electricity" I don't know if that is power
> or energy.

I took it to mean "energy". However as a statement it was wrong on both
counts, hence why I replied. The power consumption will in general be
either the same or higher, and the overall energy consumption (by the
appliance) is higher.

The win with a condensing dryer is where all the "waste" heat goes. With
a conventional vented dryer you may pay for 4kWh per load, and the lions
share of that is thrown outside. With a condensing one, you will likely
pay for 5kWh, but all that is then dumped into the house.

[Colin Stamp]

I have the worst of both worlds - a condensing washer-dryer. I get to
buy more energy and then pump it down the drain...

Cheers,

Colin.

[John Rumm]

Does it not vent the actual heat to the room then?

[Colin Stamp]

Not as far as I can tell. Having a ready supply of water and a drain, it
takes the easy option. It uses some kind of waterfall arrangement to do
the condensing and then dumps the water when it gets too warm. It spends
the whole drying time periodically filling and pumping.

Cheers,

Colin.

[meow...@care2.com]

On Saturday, December 7, 2013 7:36:07 PM UTC, RJH wrote:

> My Beko DCU 8230 condenser is 4.7kWh full load cotton, 2.5kWh cotton
> partial load. Various efficiency figures are given, all above 89%.
> I wouldn't consider it to be a particular eco-hooligan - it's rated 'B'
> and has lower running costs than the feature equivalent Bosch. And it
> was less than half the price.

I'm no greenie but all those watts are spent needlessly, so a realistic definition of efficiency would give zero.


NT

[John Rumm]

That probably makes the condensing phase a bit more efficient... but
whether its enough to compensate is a harder call.

[John Rumm]

You are also no mother trying to get the kids PE kit dry for school the
next day...

[meow...@care2.com]

On Sunday, December 8, 2013 3:26:52 PM UTC, John Rumm wrote:
> On 08/12/2013 13:13, meow...@care2.com wrote:
> > On Saturday, December 7, 2013 7:36:07 PM UTC, RJH wrote:
> >
> >> My Beko DCU 8230 condenser is 4.7kWh full load cotton, 2.5kWh cotton
> >> partial load. Various efficiency figures are given, all above 89%.
> >> I wouldn't consider it to be a particular eco-hooligan - it's rated 'B'
> >> and has lower running costs than the feature equivalent Bosch. And it
> >> was less than half the price.
> >
> > I'm no greenie but all those watts are spent needlessly, so a realistic definition of efficiency would give zero.

> You are also no mother trying to get the kids PE kit dry for school the
> next day...

Its one of those popular myths, the idea that you need a tumble dryer to do that. A fan dries shirts in 40 minutes.


NT

[Chris J Dixon]

meow...@care2.com wrote:

>Its one of those popular myths, the idea that you need a tumble dryer to do that. A fan dries shirts in 40 minutes.

It may, but at least the tumble dryer can duct the moist air
outside.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
ch...@cdixon.me.uk

Plant amazing Acers.