I've just been reading the DIYFAQ on the above:
I'm considering setting a system up like this in the airing cupboard.
Question - most of the smaller/cheaper dehumidifiers seem to be Peltier type (or I presume they are) rather than compressors.
How do these types compare for this purpose? Any recommendations?
Thanks David
Don't even think about a Peltier device for any application, unless you have no other alternative.
They are enormously power inefficient at cooling (from memory roughly
30% efficiency).The advantages of Peltier devices is vibration free, solid state, very accurate temperature control possible and can provide very compact point cooling.
None of which sounds like what you need.
Been doing this in the winter months for years so we have a "permanent" dehumidifier in the utility room.
The original dehumidifier broke a couple of months ago, and I picked up one of these:
The key to drying clothes is to keep the air moving around and the fan in a dehumidifier just does not do a good job of that on it's own, so we use a second cheapo office type fan to keep the air moving around the clothes.
Thanks. So is that a Peltier job (see post from Dom) or does it have a compressor? Wickes is singularly sparse on specs!
David
I'm certain it's a compressor. It's pretty quiet but makes all the right noises and the label says it uses 160g of R134a.
Sounds like it but that's a fluorinated hydrocarbon, weren't they for the chop?
BTW I'm a fan of this drying method, especially as it does boots too.
AJH
Any idea how it compares to using a gas tumble dryer in terms of cost?
Tim
None sorry....but I imagine it is cheaper.
Label says it is 220 Watts though I just plugged in my trusty Maplins load-ometer and it says 19 watts.
Of course the compressor doesn't run all the time so this is just the fan I suspect. Will check the meter later to see how many Wh have been consumed.
Typically we manage to dry 2 full loads of laundry in 12-18 hours. It's a much more "natural" process than tumble drying which we use only in emergencies.
DLobster has brought this to us :
As others have confirmed....
Get a compressor type, with an automatic humidity sensor built in (most do have, but worth checking). One with the option of plumbing to a drain is better, providing you can do that - it saves you emptying.
Speed of drying/collection of moisture is dramatically improved if a separate fan can be added. It needn't be be big, so long as it moves the air around the room.
Over all it is much more energy efficient than a tumble drier.
Stick to the compressor type, at least for this type of use.
You might also want to consider a compressor based tumble drier, such as
Andy
Intersting but that would mean being unfaithful to my old machine and it doesn't deserve that after years of faithful service. ;-)
Tim
A 200w dehumidifier running 20% of the time equals 40w average. Run for an 9 hour overnight drying cycle thats 0.36kWh, and that will dry a few tumble loads in one go, so about 0.12kWh per load.
The John Lewis heat pump tumbler claims 2.1kWh per cycle, or
17x as much energy consumed. New non heat pump condensor machines consume in the region of 5kWh per 6kg.NT
I tried it with an £80 compressor type from B&Q. I sat the dehumidifier in the middle of a bunch of clothes horses on which I hung the clothes to dry, so that it would be drawing in moist air from clothes on one side and wafting dry air over the clothes on the other. Even running for 8 hours or so it didn't seem to dry the clothes much better than I'd have expected them to dry naturally in a moderately warm room.
I've now got a gas tumble dryer and it does what it says on the tin :-)
As to economics, if the dehumidifier could have got a load of clothes dry in 10 hours it would be about 2.5 kWh of leccy at whatever price per unit that is. The gas tumble dryer will do a load in 1 hour at 4.5kW (of gas) at whatever price that gas costs. I cba to look up the unit prices and work it out but given that gas is a lot cheaper than electricity it's probably in the same ball-park. And you just chuck the clothes in instead of artistically arranging them on drying racks, and you get them dry today instead of sometime tomorrow.
The dehumidifier now lives in the bathroom where it deals with post-shower steaminess.
How do you work that out? If it's running 40% of the time for 9 hours presumably you could dry stuff just as well running it 100% for 3.6 hours. My experience was that even running 100% of the time it didn't dry one load in about 8 hours, let alone 'a few' loads. As I said in another post I reckon you're looking at over 2kWh per load.
My very effective set-up consists of 2 clothes horses, de-humidifier, home-made buble wrap "tent" which ensures all dry warm air gets blown over/around damp clothes.
This will do 2 x 7Kg loads (mostly cottons)from a 1600 spin and several double duvet covers etc draped over the top of the tent.(dehumidifier heated air helping natural drying process)
so 3 loads at once. Left overnight, all ready to bag up the following day.
Although the bubble-wrap tent doesn't allow natural moisture to escape freely, from my with & without experiments the drying is quicker and more complete with tent in place.
For cold winter drying the "drier" has a radiatore that forms part of the process which cuts drying time down to around 80% dry by the time
2nd wash cycle has finished.
That's not a sufficiently confined and sealed space.
I've got a 400W dehumidifier in a cupboard. After a 1400 RPM spin, it dries one load of washing in about an hour, unless there are any heavy cottens (jeans, towels), in which case 2 hours. During drying, it keeps the temperature in the cupboard around
30C, and that combined with the air being very dry and the breeze from the built-in fan works really well.The condensate is used to provide water for steam ironing, and for a few house plants which can't take tap water.
Left the power meter on our dehumidifier which was on overnight. 2.4kWh. in
16 hours. 2 loads dry. DHomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.