My washer and dryer energy usage measurements - Page 2

strider3700 · 07-25-11, 03:07 PM

our dryer does similar. I don't know the exact speed but it sounds like a jet engine taking off and the clothes are damp when finished. It does help a lot on drying time. My biggest complaint on the clothes line is I need a second one. It's 60ish feet long and only really holds 1 load. If I could get 2 loads up then I could do 4 a day which is easy. As is I have to do laundry every second day or so just to keep up if I want 100% line drying.

iamgeo · 07-26-11, 09:11 AM

That's a lot of water.
Do you run the grey water from the washing machine into your yard? If not, why not?
Is it really necessary to wash clothes so often?
You wash clothes almost every other day.
Maybe it's just me, but a pair of jeans can be worn a few days before they need to be washed.
I'm not knocking you here. Just wondering why you wash so much.

Daox · 07-26-11, 09:43 AM

Yeah, its a lot of water. I tried to find the average water usage per person in the US. I haven't found a definite answer, but it seems to be 80-180 gallons of water a day! 40 gallons a day doesn't sound too bad for a family's laundry when you look at that stat.

strider3700 · 07-26-11, 09:46 AM

two adults and two kids a 3 year old and a 1 year old. They go through 2 or 3 outfits daily plus pajama's and I only switch outfits when they are damn dirty. Add in the pretty much constant cleaning around here and the huge numbers of baths and so on and we get a lot of towels, dishrags, face clothes...

Until I had kids I really had no idea just how much laundry they generate. My daughter just switched from diapers to underwear. I now get 4-5 pairs/day from her. I used to dress the kids before breakfast but they wear half of the meal regularly so I just let the Pj's get wiped out at breakfast then we get dressed after a scrub down. Next it's outside wear the first stop is almost always the garden followed by the sandbox. a couple of hours later they're black. Scrub down normally does it but sometimes a full on bath is necessary then lunch. Once again they'll wear a good chunk of the meal. Sometimes the afternoon is spent inside sometimes out. If outside they'll be black again before dinner. scrubdown, eat dinner wear the meal then into the bath. New Pj's and then bedtime... rince repeat pretty much every day. Sometimes we get potty training accidents which take out pants and underwear or in the case of the 1 year old pant's and those snap down shirts. At night accidents take out sheets, towels under sheets, pj's and sometimes the comforter....

Lots and lots of kid related laundry.

Yesterday I did 2 loads which was 3 days worth. first load was 3 single sheets 16 towels 1 pair of track pants and about a dozen face/dish cloths. This almost completely filled my clothes line. The second was enough regular clothing to completely fill the line.

I do hope this amount will drop as the kids get older. for awhile the amount of clothing will be similar it will just get larger in size so I'll be forced to do more loads

strider3700 · 07-26-11, 09:53 AM

I also track that. On my last bill I averaged 73 gallons/day outside of the garden watering season. Period before that was 100 gallons/day but due to broken water meter that number is imaginary based on previous consumption from the year before when I hadn't done anything to save on water and still had two 6 gallon per flush toilets. I'd love to get some realtime water usage tracking going but computer linked meters aren't cheap and my water is.

picture 2 showers, 1 possibly 2 baths for the kids 1 dishwasher load, .5 handwashed loads, and 1 washing machine load/day. next add in toilet flushing for 1 adult and a 3 year old all day and then 1 more adult just at night. since the 3 year old goes every 45 minutes or so (you go all the time until they learn the feeling and learn to hold it a bit) I'm very very happy I replaced the old toilets with some 1.6 gallon/flush toilets that do a partial flush if you only fold the handle down a bit. Also you get the handwashing and the basic washcloth dampening that is always going on.

iamgeo · 07-26-11, 10:00 AM

Lol, That's also a lot of water.
Are you draining the water from the washing machine to the yard?

strider3700 · 07-26-11, 10:56 AM

not yet but when the laundry room gets redone/air sealed/set up for the solar hotwater in the near future(I've been saying that for over a year now) I will add a pipe to the outside for the washing machine to drain into. From there the water can go into a tank and be pumped up the hill to the garden via a bilge pump and switch which I already have.

08-24-11, 09:03 PM

Yeah!
I got it. Thanks for sharing this nice link. I'm very excited to see it.

GaryGary · 08-25-11, 10:06 PM

Hi,
Another bad deal with the dryer is the during the winter the hot air it vents outside pulls in cold air to replace it that has to be heated up.

(170 ft^3/min)(68 min/load)(70F-30F)(0.07 lb/ft^3)(0.24 BTU/lb-F) = 6800 BTU/load, or 2 KWH per load.
The Half Project -- projects to reduce energy consumption and green house gas emissions by half

I like Randy's attic solar heated air to the dryer scheme:
Converting a Clothes Dryer to Use Solar Heated Attic Air For Drying

Gary

strider3700 · 08-25-11, 10:55 PM

pulling from my attic isn't going to happen due to the 20+ foot long run it would need just to get up there. I have thought about changing up the intake so it's at least directly pulling from outside however rather then pulling the air in through whatever leaks it can find.

07-26-11, 09:43 AM	#13
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Yeah, its a lot of water. I tried to find the average water usage per person in the US. I haven't found a definite answer, but it seems to be 80-180 gallons of water a day! 40 gallons a day doesn't sound too bad for a family's laundry when you look at that stat. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

07-26-11, 09:53 AM	#15
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	I also track that. On my last bill I averaged 73 gallons/day outside of the garden watering season. Period before that was 100 gallons/day but due to broken water meter that number is imaginary based on previous consumption from the year before when I hadn't done anything to save on water and still had two 6 gallon per flush toilets. I'd love to get some realtime water usage tracking going but computer linked meters aren't cheap and my water is. picture 2 showers, 1 possibly 2 baths for the kids 1 dishwasher load, .5 handwashed loads, and 1 washing machine load/day. next add in toilet flushing for 1 adult and a 3 year old all day and then 1 more adult just at night. since the 3 year old goes every 45 minutes or so (you go all the time until they learn the feeling and learn to hold it a bit) I'm very very happy I replaced the old toilets with some 1.6 gallon/flush toilets that do a partial flush if you only fold the handle down a bit. Also you get the handwashing and the basic washcloth dampening that is always going on. Last edited by strider3700; 07-26-11 at 09:58 AM..

07-25-11, 03:07 PM	#11
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	our dryer does similar. I don't know the exact speed but it sounds like a jet engine taking off and the clothes are damp when finished. It does help a lot on drying time. My biggest complaint on the clothes line is I need a second one. It's 60ish feet long and only really holds 1 load. If I could get 2 loads up then I could do 4 a day which is easy. As is I have to do laundry every second day or so just to keep up if I want 100% line drying.

07-26-11, 09:11 AM	#12
iamgeo Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Lakehills, Tx Posts: 168 Thanks: 4 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	That's a lot of water. Do you run the grey water from the washing machine into your yard? If not, why not? Is it really necessary to wash clothes so often? You wash clothes almost every other day. Maybe it's just me, but a pair of jeans can be worn a few days before they need to be washed. I'm not knocking you here. Just wondering why you wash so much.

07-26-11, 09:46 AM	#14
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	two adults and two kids a 3 year old and a 1 year old. They go through 2 or 3 outfits daily plus pajama's and I only switch outfits when they are damn dirty. Add in the pretty much constant cleaning around here and the huge numbers of baths and so on and we get a lot of towels, dishrags, face clothes... Until I had kids I really had no idea just how much laundry they generate. My daughter just switched from diapers to underwear. I now get 4-5 pairs/day from her. I used to dress the kids before breakfast but they wear half of the meal regularly so I just let the Pj's get wiped out at breakfast then we get dressed after a scrub down. Next it's outside wear the first stop is almost always the garden followed by the sandbox. a couple of hours later they're black. Scrub down normally does it but sometimes a full on bath is necessary then lunch. Once again they'll wear a good chunk of the meal. Sometimes the afternoon is spent inside sometimes out. If outside they'll be black again before dinner. scrubdown, eat dinner wear the meal then into the bath. New Pj's and then bedtime... rince repeat pretty much every day. Sometimes we get potty training accidents which take out pants and underwear or in the case of the 1 year old pant's and those snap down shirts. At night accidents take out sheets, towels under sheets, pj's and sometimes the comforter.... Lots and lots of kid related laundry. Yesterday I did 2 loads which was 3 days worth. first load was 3 single sheets 16 towels 1 pair of track pants and about a dozen face/dish cloths. This almost completely filled my clothes line. The second was enough regular clothing to completely fill the line. I do hope this amount will drop as the kids get older. for awhile the amount of clothing will be similar it will just get larger in size so I'll be forced to do more loads

07-26-11, 10:00 AM	#16
iamgeo Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Lakehills, Tx Posts: 168 Thanks: 4 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	Lol, That's also a lot of water. Are you draining the water from the washing machine to the yard?

07-26-11, 10:56 AM	#17
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	not yet but when the laundry room gets redone/air sealed/set up for the solar hotwater in the near future(I've been saying that for over a year now) I will add a pipe to the outside for the washing machine to drain into. From there the water can go into a tank and be pumped up the hill to the garden via a bilge pump and switch which I already have.

08-24-11, 09:03 PM	#18
Susanhill36 Guest Posts: n/a	Yeah! I got it. Thanks for sharing this nice link. I'm very excited to see it.

08-25-11, 10:06 PM	#19
GaryGary Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SW Montana Posts: 139 Thanks: 1 Thanked 21 Times in 15 Posts	Hi, Another bad deal with the dryer is the during the winter the hot air it vents outside pulls in cold air to replace it that has to be heated up. (170 ft^3/min)(68 min/load)(70F-30F)(0.07 lb/ft^3)(0.24 BTU/lb-F) = 6800 BTU/load, or 2 KWH per load. The Half Project -- projects to reduce energy consumption and green house gas emissions by half I like Randy's attic solar heated air to the dryer scheme: Converting a Clothes Dryer to Use Solar Heated Attic Air For Drying Gary

08-25-11, 10:55 PM	#20
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	pulling from my attic isn't going to happen due to the 20+ foot long run it would need just to get up there. I have thought about changing up the intake so it's at least directly pulling from outside however rather then pulling the air in through whatever leaks it can find.