These dryers that pump heat and not your money

Going through the archives, I realized that I had devoted only two articles in 2012 on dryers. I must admit that the subject does not necessarily fascinate me, not having the place at home to equip myself unless we invent the flat dryer to slide under the bed. Suddenly, I missed the latest innovations in this area a little, especially the dryers with heat pump.
For a long time, tumble dryers were the poor relatives of large household appliances in terms of energy saving. While refrigerators and washing machines did not stop stretching the + behind their A, the dryers displayed at best B and more generally C and D for a strong electricity bill. Today the dryers have caught up thanks to the heat pump. There are now class A-50% dryers, which can cut your bill in half compared to a class B dryer.

How does the dryer with heat pump work?

I would say like a conventional heat pump but it would not do us much. As its name suggests, the pump will recover heat from the ambient air, it will then treat the air to dehumidify and cool it, then re-inject the heat to produce hot, dry air. The process is far from new, Electrolux considers itself to be the pioneer of this technology which would already be 14 years old! (well, I'm really very, very late).

The advantages of the dryer with heat pump

The main advantage is obviously the power consumption for a dry electricity bill. In general, these dryers also have a self-cleaning condenser since the water will pass several times, but this drying mode is also appreciated because it better respects the fiber of the laundry thanks to a lower temperature than on the others dryer.

But…

Obviously who says lower temperature also says a longer drying time which will perhaps tire the regulars of the "traditional" dryer. Another drawback is the cost of purchasing these types of devices, which, fortunately, quickly pays for itself with energy savings.

The hybrid, not just for cars

I assure you, we are not here to talk about 14-year-old technology. I still have a reputation to hold! Now that the delay is caught, let's talk about a real innovation since LG has just launched the first hybrid dryer operating with a heat pump and a resistance, or how to take advantage of the advantages of two methods of dryer. After asking my husband for details on hybrid cars (who still can't believe it), the system is not exactly the same but there is indeed a program Eco Hybrid on these dryers which combines the two heat sources for a much shorter drying time than on conventional heat pump dryers (LG announces a gain of time of more than an hour) while keeping the same energy saving performance (A +). It is also possible to use only the heat pump when you are not in a hurry to further improve the economy (A ++). LG currently offers two models with the same characteristics but with a different loading capacity: the RH8051WH for 8 kg and the RH9051WH for 9 kg. For the moment only the 9 kg dryer is available on the Internet and prices vary between € 860 and € 999. Alas yes, this kind of technology is still reserved for those who are ready to (or able to) invest almost € 1000 in this kind of device, a purchase cost which unfortunately makes us forget the cost of electricity.