Upgrading old Tumble Drier

km1423

Hi everybody, forgive me, if I have posted in the wrong thread.

I am in the process of replacing older appliances. Trying to purchase more energy efficient models A++/A+++.

OH and I both grew up with Miele appliances, and this still stands today. Just replaced older Miele dishwasher, with an all singing and dancing A+++ Miele dishwasher (it is amazing)

Washing machine was done 2 years ago, and now its the turn of the Miele tumble dryer. It's great, but C rated - not good enough for me.

I've got my eye on a Miele TKR350WP, 8 kg, and it's really expensive - it made my eyes water.

I've looked at alternatives, AEG, Samsung, Panasonic, and LG. The most important issues for me are A++ energy efficiency and an A rated condenser.

I have registered with Which, but they haven't reviewed the appliance yet (grrr). I also viewed a European site for top 10 residential use tumble driers rated by efficiency/condensation class and none of them are available here in the UK. This includes Beko, Bloomberg, AEG, Bosch. It seems Switzerland and Germany have very good efficiency standards.

Really interested to know if anybody has this appliance, or one of the other 8kg machines.

Thanks for reading.

Mr_K

I think you'll find all Tumble Driers use a lot of energy, the differences between them will be slight. Seems however you're more interested in cosmetics/brand names which is a different matter and a waste of money.

Best thing you can do for the environment/your money is use yours till it well and truly dies. Too many people throw away good appliances, probably because of rip off repair costs. Just replaced the belt on mine for £10, even when they do break down they can be cheap to repair if you do it yourself.

Cardew

I have the Miele T8966WP 8kg heat pump tumble dryer purchased 2 years ago with a 'free' 10 year Guarantee.


I also have the 8kg Miele washing machine W5877 edition 111.


The specification and 3 reviews for the dryer is here:


http://www.reevoo.com/p/miele-t8966


I must say I am perplexed why it is 'only' an 'A' for energy efficiency when all the sales blurb state the heat pump reduced consumption by 46% over Miele's normal dryers.


The consumption data table is impressive with the maximum energy consumption for a full 8kg load to maximum drying is 2.4 kWh but a more normal load is around 1 kWh.


The only test with a plug in monitor I carried out was for 8 small loads and that was 7kWh.


Like(I suspect) most owners the 8kg capacity is rarely used. The exception has been to wash and dry duvets and pillows and save on dry cleaning costs.


In strict money saving terms I doubt if you can justify spending £1,500 on your Miele TKR350WP, even with a 10 year guarantee, when perfectly good appliances are available for a third to a half of that price. However it is a Miele!!


The other question to ask is do you need 8kg capacity and all the facilities on the TKR350WP?

alleycat`

I don't really understand the rationale for what you are doing?

If the appliance has expired then fair enough but if it works then the "energy saving" costs aren't going to offset the initial purchase price?

In MSE terms that's hard to advocate.

Even if doing it from an "environmental" standpoint it makes little sense.

Buying something new and all the associated manufacture and shipping is a higher "cost" than using something that still works.

If it genuinely has "expired" then i'd seriously consider something else as £1,500 on a tumble drier sounds "insane" (even when it is miele).

CashStrapped

I agree with the above comments.Even if you got heat pump condenser model, the savings from lower running costs will take decades to make back due to the high cost of the machine. It all depends on the upfront cost of the machine, the average running cost and the savings compared to your current machine. The only ones which are compelling in my mind are the gas power machines which can cost around £250-£300 and can cost £20-£30 a year to run.

For standard dryers, they have not got much more efficient over the years.

http://www.top10energyefficiency.org.uk/tumble-dryers-comparing-energy-use-of-old-and-new-highly-energy-efficient-appliances-413

Smiley_Dan

http://www.sust-it.net/energy-saving.php?id=41

Basically, it tends to be that more expensive appliances are more efficient, but it's not a perfect correlation.

Smiley_Dan

alleycat` wrote: »

I don't really understand the rationale for what you are doing?

If the appliance has expired then fair enough but if it works then the "energy saving" costs aren't going to offset the initial purchase price?

Actually, it can do. I did a payback calculation on a chest freezer and that came out at five years, which is pretty good imo and, one would hope longer than the lifetime of the freezer!

Cardew

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

http://www.sust-it.net/energy-saving.php?id=41

Basically, it tends to be that more expensive appliances are more efficient, but it's not a perfect correlation.

I looked at this before I posted and like many of the Sust-it tables find it difficult to understand.


They use an electricity cost of 15.2p/kWh, which although high is acceptable for comparison purposes.


As stated in my earlier post on my Miele for an 8kg load the max consumption of 2.4kWh is for washing that has had the lowest speed spin in a washing machine(and thus the highest residual moisture content) and maximum 'dryness'. That gives a figure of 4.56p/kg.


The same load spun at the highest speed(with lowest moisture content) to the same dryness uses 1.7kWh thus a figure of 3.23p/kg.


8kg dried to 'hand iron' can use as little as 1.15kWh which is 2.18p/kg


So we have a range from 2.18p/kg to 4.56p/kg using sust -it electricity price of 15.2p/kWh


Sust-it say that their figures are using the manufacturers supplied data for a standard dry cotton cycle.


The lifetime running costs of the highest rated Miele costing from £2,349 are given as £504. The Beko 8kg costing £350 has lifetime costs of £588. Both are given a 13 year life.


A compelling argument not to buy a Miele!

Smiley_Dan

Sure. First, I think you can enter your tariff...

The other concern is that energy is not the only important measure. One interesting measurement would be the power draw and how this varies during the cycle - this allows renewables etc use to be timed better. E.g. if it's sunny now but you know cloud is on the way in an hour or two, should you wait for tomorrow?

alleycat`

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

Actually, it can do. I did a payback calculation on a chest freezer and that came out at five years, which is pretty good imo and, one would hope longer than the lifetime of the freezer!

On a freezer that is on all the time and at a price point seriously "lower" than £1500 i might be prepared to accept that is possible.

On a "demand" based item like a tumble drier and at that price point, i seriously doubt that you'd ever see a saving on "energy" alone.

I suppose there may be a cutover where, if the device gets a lot of use in a large family, that it might make sense if taking the large warranty into consideration as it would shorten the "average life" of the device.

I've chosen to assume in this instance that isn't the case.

Smiley_Dan

Yeah. It also depends on the state of the current appliance. For example, the freezer seals.