Cost of running a tumble drier help please

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I used to rely on the airer year round and thought it was great. Then I got put on a disciplinary/final written warning for turning up to work smelly. I hadn't realised it.

The mould in the flat, even with the windows open all year round (and it is so cold!) means I have to get clothes dry as quickly as possible, or they just contaminate the rest of them.

So, tumble dryer all winter for me.

Cardew

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I live in a north-facing flat with no outside space and never use my dryer - I have this
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80119043
It will comfortably take two loads of laundry, has a two foot square footprint and folds flat when not in use. It lives in my bedroom - with the window partially open it takes half a day for everything to dry in the summer and a maximum of two days (jeans) in the winter, and I am not big on heating! I know it sounds sad but this airer is one of the best things I have bought for my flat.

Condensation can be a problem!

Fire_Fox

Cardew wrote: »

Condensation can be a problem!

It is, hence the open window! I have problems with condensation even when we used to air dry my laundry in the communal hall (no neighbours at that point ) as we have metal window frames.

I have been in two neighbouring flats who presumably heat more and they have much worse mould growth than I do, so I am guessing that's down to ventilation. I'd go for a dehumidifier over a tumble dryer as it's cheaper to run and gets rid of water from all sources (breathing, showering).

barnabee

There are a couple of useful websites with calculators. The best one is where you can put your make and model in to get the running costs - link here

The other is more general but may help - link here

Martyn_H

barnabee wrote: »

There are a couple of useful websites with calculators. The best one is where you can put your make and model in to get the running costs - link here

The other is more general but may help - link here

Brill. Thank you.

Martyn_H

I'll be doing a test with the tumble drier on Friday to see how far the dials on the meter have moved.

Is it rare for a meter to be inaccurate? N-power want £80 odd quid to check it.

Martyn_H

Meter seems to be recording accurately. What is the lifespan of a meter and when is the company obliged to replace it?

incus432

There is some confusion in some of the posts above about kilowatts which are units of power (rate of energy use) and kilowatt-hours, whichare units of energy. A kilowatt-hour is the amount of energy used if a 1kW appliance is used for one hour, it is not a 'kilowatt per hour' (which is meaningless).

It is the amount of energy used you pay for. So a 3 kW kettle and a 1kW keettle will use the same amount of energy to boil a quantity of water, the higher wattage one just does it faster

Martyn_H

Good point, incus. Presumably if a kettle says 3kwh on the plate, then it will use 3kw of energy if used for an hour.

Cardew

Martyn_H wrote: »

Good point, incus. Presumably if a kettle says 3kwh on the plate, then it will use 3kw of energy if used for an hour.

You have got that exactly the wrong way about!!

Read my Post #7

The plate will say 3kW and if you run that for an hour it will use 3kWh. (assuming there is no thermostat operating)