Do any of you have advice or recommendations with Heat Pump dryers and if so what UK store did you get it from?
Posted by Ok-Librarian-7809@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 14 comments
I have done research on Reddit but 95% of the posts are from the USA, I’ve looked and seen Samsung ones are good but some of them are a little bit out of my budget, so looking for some budget friendly recommendations.
Thanks in advance!
DarkNinjaPenguin@reddit
Best to go to the usual places - Argos, Currys etc. - and look at reviews there. Having said that, it's fairly safe to go with the big brands - Bosch, Samsung etc. Mine is a Samsung, and while it was a little pricey it's more than made up for it in energy savings. It uses so little power I can run it entirely on solar, so it's effectively free. Paid for itself very quickly, especially as we had a newborn in reusable nappies so we're doing a lot of washing, daily!
Ok-Librarian-7809@reddit (OP)
Wow that’s amazing! How have you got that set up? Solar panels into a battery? Do you know what model it is so I can look at the KwH and running costs? Thank you :)
schmerg-uk@reddit
Worth noting that the heat pump is extracting and concentrating heat energy from the ambient air, so if the outdoor ambient temperature means that your central heating is on, then it would seem to me that the heat exchanger is "stealing" some of that heat for its own purposes and claiming it got the energy for free when actually you've paid for it.
That is, over winter the "low running costs" are not entirely as they seem (but of course, leaving clothes to dry on a rail indoors would similarly be using the same heat to do the same) but from spring to autumn, if your heating is not on, then yes, it's extracting the energy from the ambient air temperature.
Having said that I have a Samsung HX model and it's generally pretty good - it doesn't heat up as quickly as traditional models (but is still drying the clothes, just doesn't feel as instantly warm) and, like all tumble dryers, works best when the clothes can tumble as it turns, so avoid overloading it. And keep those lint filters clean.
The model I have, the plastic blades on the fan for blowing the air tends to crack and break after 3 - 4 years - it suddenly makes a hell of a racket as the blades hit the housing. But you can get a new fan for about £30 online and it's only about 20 minutes work to change it over (c.f. my old Bosch drier the heating element would last about 3-4 years and similarly cost and time to replace it).
rbbt456@reddit
It doesn’t take heat from the ambient air. It takes heat from the warm wet air leaving the drum to cool and condense out the water. Then uses that heat to reheat the air before it goes back into the drum
schmerg-uk@reddit
Well admittedly that would make more sense once it's up to temperature but until then I'd still expect it's using the "paid to warmed up" temperature of the ambient air... so I guess it's more efficient if the washing is still warm from the wash/rinse cycle rather than left to get cold (which I realise yields that bit of heat back to the room etc).
I was just making the point that almost nothing is free - just as leaving clothes to air-dry on a rack indoors in winter will still drop the ambient air temperature making the heating work harder to replace that energy used to evaporate the moisture where many people will claim that "it costs nothing" to do so.
rbbt456@reddit
I have a Bosch series 4 heat pump tumble dryer. Very happy with it. Cost about £550. Dries a load in about 1hour if part full or synthetic fibres and takes about 3hours if fully loaded with cotton towels.
Ok-Librarian-7809@reddit (OP)
Wow! Thanks for the info!
FelisCantabrigiensis@reddit
Bosch, from John Lewis.
I heartily recommend both.
Qrbrrbl@reddit
Bosch are generally a good bet for appliances. I have a 4-series heat pump dryer and it does the job without fuss.
Ok-Librarian-7809@reddit (OP)
Ah nice! Do you mind if I ask how much and roughly it’s running costs?
Qrbrrbl@reddit
I think it was around 450 / 500 when I got it a few years back. Honestly don't pay attention to running costs. I tend to put it on at night when my EV tariff gets me dirt cheap electricity so it's peanuts
Ok-Librarian-7809@reddit (OP)
Brilliant! Thanks for your comment!
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