If a heat pump is utilized, the dryer is called a heat pump dryer (Figure 2). (Source: US EPA.)Ĭondensing dryers can use electric resistance as the heat source, or a heat pump. Since they dry clothes at lower temperatures, condensing dryers are gentler on clothes than conventional dryers.įigure 1. Condensing clothes dryers are ventless, easier to install, save energy, and they are gentler on clothes. This means they’re easier to install, and they remove the fire risk associated with a clogged dryer vent. Because they are ventless, there is no need to add an exterior hole in the wall and no time spent installing and connecting a vent duct. These units are electric-powered, so there is no need to install and connect gas lines. Condensing dryers take in ambient air, heat it in a heat exchanger, circulate it in the drum to absorb moisture from the wet clothes, send it to the heat exchanger where the air is cooled, releasing the moisture to a condensate drain, then recirculate the air to the heat exchanger to repeat the process until the clothes are dry ( ENERGY STAR Clothes Dryers 2017). Ventless dryers are also called "condensing dryers", because they condense and drain the moisture from the clothes (Figure 1). They also operate more efficiently and do not require access to an exhaust route. Because they pull in unconditioned air and pull conditioned air out of the home, they can also cause the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment to work harder.Įlectric ventless clothes dryers, on the other hand, operate without exhausting air out of the home or depressurizing the space. They could also potentially encourage conditions for backdrafting of atmospheric vented combustion appliances if there are any located in the home. ![]() Because they exhaust air outside, conventional electric or gas clothes dryers contribute to the depressurization of the home, which will pull unconditioned air into the home from locations such as the garage, attic, crawlspace, or outside. This process consumes and wastes a lot of energy, as is evident in the high temperature of the exhaust air. Conventional vented clothes dryers pull air from the room, heat this air, blow it into the tumble chamber of the clothes dryer, and then exhaust the moisture-laden air through a vent to the outside.
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