Drying Old School - In the Beginning
The progression of dryer technology prior to the invention of the condensing dryer can be summed up in just a few words; first came the clothes line, then came the vented tumble dryer. Sure, modern dryers have LCD displays and humidity-sensing shut-off, but clothing is still dried by blowing warm air across wet laundry and then expelling the moisture out a vent.Fortunately, a better more efficient technology exists that eliminates the cumbersome and outdated dryer vent. Condensing (ventless) dryers use a dehumidifying chamber to remove moisture from warm damp air that is circulated through the dryer drum. Once the moisture is removed, the resulting dry air is recirculated back into the dryer drum and the process starts over again.
Dry times for condensing dryers are now comparable to standard vented dryers and the process is far more efficient. Unlike vented dryers, condensing machines use a closed-loop system that does not expelled heated air out a vent. Since the warm air remains in the machine, the heating element within a condensing dryer does not have to work as hard to warm the air during the drying
process. The result is a dry system that is 50% - 70% more efficient and much easier to install.Another efficiency advantage to condensing dryers pertains to room air heating a cooling. In most areas of the world, room air is heated by a furnace in the winter and cooled by an air conditioner in the summer. Standard vented dryers remove and expel air from the surrounding room, requiring HVAC systems to work harder to keep a room at a comfortable temperature. Closed-loop condensing do not remove air from a room and therefore do not impact HVAC systems.
With all its advantages, ventless drying is already having an impact on the building industry...but I'll cover that in my next post.
