Ventless Dryers

Condensation or Ventless dryers have been around Europe for years, it is only during the 1980’s that it was introduced to North American Consumers. Today’s ventless/condensation dryers use a heat exchange system which works as a dehumidifier to dry clothing quickly with the use of less energy than conventional vented dryers.

Dispelling Old Misconceptions….

1. Condensing dryers take forever to dry

Today’s standalone ventless/condensation dryers dry clothes just as quickly as vented dryers using less energy.

2. Ventless dryers release moisture back into the surrounding room

Condensing dryers use a closed-loop system that removes dampness from the air using a dehumidifying process which does not release heat, lint or moisture into the surrounding room. Stand-alone ventless dryers release a small amount of dry air back into a room as a result of a heat- exchange system which uses air to cool an internal radiator.

3. All Condensing dryers are tiny

Ventless dryers now come in all sizes, from the smallest combo machine to a large stand-alone condensing system. Technological advances have allowed the dryer’s capacity to increase in size. We now offer 8kg ventless dryer.

4. Ventless systems use more energy

Unlike vented dryers that continuously expel and reheat air, ventless closed-loop systems remove moisture and re-circulate warm dry air back into the dryer drum. The result is less stress on the dryer heating element and a more efficient way to dry clothing.

Another added benefit of condensing dryers relates to heating and air conditioning. In most parts of the world, a residence is heated in the winter  by a furnace and cooled in the summer by an air conditioner. Vented dryers remove an average 200 cubic feet per minute of air from a  surrounding room. That means that a HVAC system needs to work harder and use significantly more energy during vented dryer operation.

The Future of Ventless Dryers

A report issued in 2012 by the National Fire Protection Association reports that in 2010, an estimated 16,800 reported U.S. non-confined or confined home structure fires involving clothes dryers or washing machines resulted in 51 civilian deaths, 380 civilian injuries, and $236 million in direct property damage.

In 2010, clothes dryers and washing machines accounted for 4.5% of all reported home structure fires, 1.9% of associated civilian deaths, 2.8% of associated civilian injuries, and 3.1% of associated direct property damage.

Of all the fire incidents involving washer and dryers, 92% of incidents involved dryers. 29% of dryer fires started by dust, fiber, or lint that were uncleared and ignited in the dryer.

We see a trend with buildings moving away from vented dryers and favouring condensation/ventless dryers.

We are predicting an increase in condensation/ventless dryers in homes in the near future.

How Ventless Dryers Work

Condensing dryers are electric dryers that do not have or require an exhaust vent. Condensing dryers recirculate the air in the drum between an electric heater and a water-cooled condensing coil, or air-cooled condensing coil. In AEG condensation dryers, the condensed water is collected in a removable container for manual disposal when the holding tank is full. Alternatively, a drain-hose kit can be attached to the dryer to allow the condensed water to drain directly down the sink drain.

While the drying process differs in the condensation dryer, the operation of both the vented and the condensation dryer are essentially the same for the user. Instead of blowing hot air onto the laundry and then into the laundry area, the condenser dryer extracts the moisture from the clothes before draining it away as condensed water. It circulates the air in the drum, which it heats up as it circulates through clothes. This process picks up the moisture from the clothes, passes through the condenser coil, then pushes the air back into the room. Rather than pumping humid air into the laundry area, a condenser dryer efficiently extracts the dampness from the clothes, therefore expelling only warm air and not moisture.

As the condensation dryer does not need to be vented, it can be placed in any room of the home, as the need for installation of venting pipes is eliminated. Condominiums do not always have provisions for venting, and a condensation dryer would eliminate the need for vent pipe installation. The same often applies to basements or interior rooms.

The AEG condensation dryer is ‘sensor’ controlled. This means that you select how dry you want your clothes, and the sensor will stop the dryer when the moisture content matches the selected program.