Heat Pump

Heat Pump Tumble Dryers

A heat pump tumble dryer recycles its own heat rather than venting it away, and that single design difference is why it uses roughly half to a third of the electricity of a condenser or vented machine. For a household drying three or four loads a week, the extra purchase cost typically pays back within two to three years, and it keeps paying afterwards. It is also the only type that reaches the higher energy ratings, which matters if the machine is going into a rented property or a new build. The second benefit is less obvious but matters more to clothes: because the drum never gets as hot as a conventional dryer, wool, sportswear and anything with elastane come out in better condition and shrink less. The trade is time. A heat pump cycle runs longer than a condenser cycle for the same load, so it suits running overnight or while you are out rather than turning washing around in an hour. One piece of maintenance is essential: alongside the lint filter in the door, there is a condenser or evaporator filter behind a panel at the base, and it needs rinsing every few loads. A blocked one is the reason almost every heat pump dryer that seems to have stopped drying properly has stopped drying properly. Capacity should match your washing machine or go one step larger, so 8 and 9kg suits most homes, 10kg a family of five or more, and 12kg a large household or regular bedding. Sensor drying is worth having over a timer, because it stops when the clothes are dry rather than running on, and that is where the real saving sits.

Bosch covers the Series 4 at 8kg and the Series 6 at 9kg in white, cast iron grey and graphite. Samsung runs the Series 5 at 9kg in white and black and the Series 6 AI Energy at 9kg in black. Hisense supplies the 5S Series at 9 and 10kg with Wi-Fi in black and white, and Haier the X Series 5 at 8 and 9kg and the I-Pro Series 7 Plus at 9kg in white and anthracite. Beko covers 8, 9 and 12kg including SteamCure models and a 12kg sensor dryer, Electrolux 8 and 9kg, and Blomberg, Candy and Hoover the 8, 9 and 10kg value end. The wider range including washer dryers is in tumble dryers.

Heat pump dryers carry the highest prices in laundry and the lowest running costs, so a reduction here pays back twice over, and it is usually what closes the gap against a cheaper condenser machine that will cost more every week it runs. Prices are live all year, so see what is reduced now on tumble dryers on sale.