My washer and dryer energy usage measurements - Page 3

strider3700 · 12-13-11, 04:50 PM

Since getting my new smart meter I've been tracking daily electric consumption and a pattern has started to emerge.

I average 25 kwh/day right now doing nothing special. If I heat with the heat pump it adds 20 kwh If I do a load of laundry in the dryer it adds 5 kwh. If I do 2 loads it add 10 kwh. So I'm updating my laundry spreadsheet to show dryer is using 5 kwh per load. It does have a sensor so it's just an estimate and small loads will take less time but I tend to load it right up. This means I save about 40 cents each time I hang the laundry on the line.

Laundry wise things are staying pretty stable. In 14 months it's been 313 cold loads and 42 hot loads. 263 loads in the dryer and 20 partial/tumble drys.

my clothesline has saved me $23.87 since that time and using cold water has saved me $18.32

I will say I miss summer time though. Yesterdays towels were still quite damp after 6 hours in the shade/wind/sun since the sun is low enough half my clothes line is shaded this time of year...

NeilBlanchard · 12-15-11, 08:41 AM

Cleaning out the dryer's vent is critical to using less energy. We got a new gas dryer (the one we had was ~18 years old) and I'm sure it is better on it own, but I cleaned the vent, and it takes less than 1/3 the time the old one did to dry the clothes -- it is about 20-25 minutes vs 1.5+ hours. The new one has a good sensor that stops as soon as things are dry.

strider3700 · 12-15-11, 11:45 AM

It has only been a couple of years since I installed the new piping but if I get the chance I'll open it up and see what's in it.

strider3700 · 10-18-12, 07:37 PM

ok it's been 2 years since I started collecting this data.

IN total 573 loads washed
528 or 92% cold water
45 or 8% hot water

190 or 33% clothes line
338 dryer
43 partial dryer runs

This has cost me $159.32 in electricity. By using the clothes line I've saved $75.98 and cold water has saved me $34.11 for a total of $110.09 saved. or roughly 40.86%. I've also used 7418 gallons of water.

I got serious about using the clothesline when our awful spring ended and summer started
Since May 1st I've done 133 loads of wash

110 or 83% went on the clothes line
14 went in the dryer for the full time
9 were partial dryer runs.

The weather has recently changed here and the clothes line is likely to see far less usage for the next 6 months. I do my best to time laundry days to sunny days but that's not easy to do. It's supposed to rain every day for the next 5 at least for instance and I need to do laundry every 4 or 5 days...

Overall I'm pretty happy with these numbers. I do a lot of laundry with the kids but the energy used/costs isn't that bad. With any luck I can get the clothes line at 50% usage for the year. It's currently at 61% with 2.5 crappy months to go.

ecomodded · 10-19-12, 12:22 AM

I am surprised it is so inexpensive to do laundry, works out to somewhere around 50 cents per wash and dried load.
At a Laundry mat it costs somewhere around 4-5 bucks a load, that is a large mark up !

strider3700 · 10-19-12, 12:58 AM

yes it's cheap to do, but you also have $1200 or so invested in the washer and dryer combo. A less expensive traditional top loader and a timed dryer not sensor driven would use way more water and probably a bunch more electricity

12-13-11, 04:50 PM	#21
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	Since getting my new smart meter I've been tracking daily electric consumption and a pattern has started to emerge. I average 25 kwh/day right now doing nothing special. If I heat with the heat pump it adds 20 kwh If I do a load of laundry in the dryer it adds 5 kwh. If I do 2 loads it add 10 kwh. So I'm updating my laundry spreadsheet to show dryer is using 5 kwh per load. It does have a sensor so it's just an estimate and small loads will take less time but I tend to load it right up. This means I save about 40 cents each time I hang the laundry on the line. Laundry wise things are staying pretty stable. In 14 months it's been 313 cold loads and 42 hot loads. 263 loads in the dryer and 20 partial/tumble drys. my clothesline has saved me $23.87 since that time and using cold water has saved me $18.32 I will say I miss summer time though. Yesterdays towels were still quite damp after 6 hours in the shade/wind/sun since the sun is low enough half my clothes line is shaded this time of year...

12-15-11, 08:41 AM	#22
NeilBlanchard Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth Posts: 383 Thanks: 78 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	Cleaning out the dryer's vent is critical to using less energy. We got a new gas dryer (the one we had was ~18 years old) and I'm sure it is better on it own, but I cleaned the vent, and it takes less than 1/3 the time the old one did to dry the clothes -- it is about 20-25 minutes vs 1.5+ hours. The new one has a good sensor that stops as soon as things are dry.

12-15-11, 11:45 AM	#23
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	It has only been a couple of years since I installed the new piping but if I get the chance I'll open it up and see what's in it.

10-18-12, 07:37 PM	#24
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	ok it's been 2 years since I started collecting this data. IN total 573 loads washed 528 or 92% cold water 45 or 8% hot water 190 or 33% clothes line 338 dryer 43 partial dryer runs This has cost me $159.32 in electricity. By using the clothes line I've saved $75.98 and cold water has saved me $34.11 for a total of $110.09 saved. or roughly 40.86%. I've also used 7418 gallons of water. I got serious about using the clothesline when our awful spring ended and summer started Since May 1st I've done 133 loads of wash 110 or 83% went on the clothes line 14 went in the dryer for the full time 9 were partial dryer runs. The weather has recently changed here and the clothes line is likely to see far less usage for the next 6 months. I do my best to time laundry days to sunny days but that's not easy to do. It's supposed to rain every day for the next 5 at least for instance and I need to do laundry every 4 or 5 days... Overall I'm pretty happy with these numbers. I do a lot of laundry with the kids but the energy used/costs isn't that bad. With any luck I can get the clothes line at 50% usage for the year. It's currently at 61% with 2.5 crappy months to go.

10-19-12, 12:22 AM	#25
ecomodded Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Vancouver Island,Canada. Posts: 1,037 Thanks: 116 Thanked 100 Times in 87 Posts	I am surprised it is so inexpensive to do laundry, works out to somewhere around 50 cents per wash and dried load. At a Laundry mat it costs somewhere around 4-5 bucks a load, that is a large mark up !

10-19-12, 12:58 AM	#26
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	yes it's cheap to do, but you also have $1200 or so invested in the washer and dryer combo. A less expensive traditional top loader and a timed dryer not sensor driven would use way more water and probably a bunch more electricity