Improving the energy efficiency of residential clothes dryers [electronic resource].
- Published:
- Berkeley, Calif. : Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1983.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy. - Physical Description:
- Pages: 79 : digital, PDF file
- Additional Creators:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Access Online
- Restrictions on Access:
- Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
- Summary:
- An experimental study on energy efficient electrical domestic clothes dryers is presented. A literature survey was performed and four basic energy saving techniques were identified: (1) reduced air flow rate and heater input, (2) recirculation of a portion of the exhaust air back into the clothes dryer, (3) heat recovery, utilizing an air-to-air heat exchanger, and (4) 100% recirculation of air through the dryer and a heat pump to condense water out of the air. Reduced air flow rate and heater input leads to energy savings around 8%, while recirculation of exhaust air reduces the energy consumption by approximately 18%. Because of the low cost of these two measures, they should be pursued by the manufacturers. When utilizing an air-to-air heat exchanger for heat recovery, two modes are considered. The first is to preheat the inlet air with heat from the exhaust air, which results in 20 to 26% energy savings depending upon the location of the dryer in the house. The second more attractive mode is 100% recirculation of air and condensation of water from this air in the heat exchanger (using indoor air as a heat sink) and represents a 100% heat recovery but leads to a 1 to 6% increase in energy consumption. The development of a clothes dryer equipped with an air-to-air heat exchanger and a summer/winter switch (preheating mode in the summer and recirculation/condenstion mode in the winter) should be pursued by the manufacturers. Recirculation through a heat pump with condensation again gives a 100% heat recovery and can save up to 33% in energy consumption but yields long drying times due to limitations of the condenser temperature.
- Report Numbers:
- E 1.99:lbl-16813
lbl-16813 - Subject(s):
- Other Subject(s):
- Note:
- Published through SciTech Connect.
07/01/1983.
"lbl-16813"
"DE84005861"
Fisk, W.J.; Hekmat, D. - Funding Information:
- AC03-76SF00098
View MARC record | catkey: 14079650