The state of California is encouraging home electrification through a series of measures providing rebates and technical assistance. One such measure is California’s “Energy Smart Homes” rebate program. This program offers a $250 rebate for an installation of a heat pump dryer.
We already had an electric dryer. It was your basic model and it’s been in the garage since my wife moved here nearly 40 years ago. It was still working when we decided to replace it. Nancy certainly got her money’s worth out of that dryer.
In the summer months here, you don’t need a clothes dryer at all. The solar dryer—a clothesline—works just fine and is much cheaper. Still, we wanted to test this new dryer as part of our home electrification campaign and share our experience with others.
We chose a Whirlpool 7.4 cu.ft front load heat pump dryer from a local appliance vendor. It was Energy Star rated and the controls work just like our Whirlpool washing machine. While not top-of-the-line, the dryer cost twice what a conventional dryer would cost. With sales tax, delivery, installation, and the dryer pigtail, it cost us about $1,800. Of course, these are advertised for much less.
These dryers are called “ventless” because they don’t require a conventional ducted vent outside the building. Because of this, the manufacturer’s claim you can install them in small spaces, such as apartments. What they don’t tell you is that heat pump dryers require a hose for the condensate. That surprised me as well as the installers. Fortunately, we could use the same hole in the garage wall as the vent for the previous dryer. The dryer’s condensate drains outside the garage.
The dryer is quiet, simple to operate, and does an effective job.
I am not monitoring it’s consumption as it’s used infrequently. I’ve never monitored our electricity consumption from the previous dryer either. It’s not one of the major electrical loads for our household.
The “combined energy factor” for the dryer is 5.2 pounds per kWh. This is less than the top-of-the-line dryers but substantially more than the minimum for an Energy Star rating of 3.3 pounds/kWh.
Unfortunately, the smart homes rebate represents less than 15% of the cost of the dryer. It’s not enough to influence most buyers into choosing a heat pump over electric resistance drying.
- California Energy-Smart Homes: Single Family Whole Building Electrification
- Alterations Incentive Program
- California Energy Smart Homes: Whole Building Electrification Alterations Participant Handbook
Electrification Series
