Scottish power blocking my switch to British Gas

Cardew

Gerry1 said:

Cardew said:

Gerry1 said:

I don't understand the basis for those 'Which?' figures.  Given that electricity costs roughly 4 - 5 times as much as gas per kWh, I'd expect a similar variance in annual costs.

The Euro energy efficiency label says my gas dryer uses 261kWh (based on 160 cycles per year) which would cost me the princely sum of  £6.19.  An electric dryer using 261kWh of electricity would cost me £31.62.  The comparison isn't 100% exact (the label doesn't split the consumption into gas and electricity, and the efficiency of an electric dryer may be different) but it should be close enough.

Air to Air heat pumps can achieve remarkably high COP* figures even using outside ambient temperature air.

* COP Co-efficient of Performance gives the increase in heat output. e.g 1kWh input  giving 5kWh output gives a COP=5.

So taking in air at indoor temperatures the washing machine heat pump will have a very high COP and the heat output in kWH will be many times the input in kWh.

So who makes a heat pump dryer with an annual consumption of 261kW/5 = 52.2kWh?

If someone only needs 261kWh of heat per year to dry their clothes, I suspect all heat pump tumble dryers will produce that amount of heat using 52.2kWh or less. The whole point of a heat pump on a tumble dryer is that the output is many times the input, which more than compensates for electricity costing much more than gas.

Heat Pump Tumble Dryers

Tumble dryers can be an essential piece of machinery in any home, and they are one of the top appliances for people to purchase. They get our clothes dry through all seasons, so we don’t need to wait for the rain to stop and the sun to start shining. You may have heard of heat pump tumble dryers, the latest craze in the home appliance world. You may have even been wondering if they will make the right fit for your home. Here, you will find all the information you will need to decide if you want one for yourself.

What is a Heat Pump Tumble Dryer?

The heat pump tumble dryer has been widely used in Switzerland and Germany for the past 13 or more years. The technology was produced to help conserve energy. You see, while conventional models of tumble dryer release the hot air that is used to dry clothes, heat pump technology works to conserve and reuse it. Here’s a little more detail about the process.

Hot air passes through the drum of the machine, absorbing the moisture from your clothing. After this, it passes through a number of filters, where the air is partially cooled and the moisture removed, The water that is collected is then deposited into a water tank (using the same process as a standard condenser dryer). As this is occurring, the warm air is heated back up, and circulated back to the drum. The fact that the hot air is reused means that the energy is kept within the machine instead of being allowed to escape. This process drastically reduces the energy required to operate the machine, thus reducing operating costs.

Gerry1

Cardew said:

If someone only needs 261kWh of heat per year to dry their clothes, I suspect all heat pump tumble dryers will produce that amount of heat using 52.2kWh or less.

Except that they don't.  The 261kWh for the gas dryer and the 171kWh for the Miele are both official Euro ratings.

But as the OP will no longer be able to buy one, we'd better leave it !