Home Appliance + Lighting Blog

Heat pump dryers have intrigued me for a few years now. Although they have been in Germany for 13 years, I have to be conservative with new product because we service what we sell.

The technology behind heat pumps, however, is compelling. It will use 50% less energy than other dryers and is gentler on your clothes.

In the market for laundry, high efficiency washers are everywhere. High efficiency front and hybrid top loading machines use turbidity sensors to measure how dirty your clothes are and use energy and water as needed.

High efficiency washers also have higher spin speeds than ever before. They spin your clothes almost dry to avoid long dry times.

Up until the heat pump dryer was introduced, dryers were not really even rated by EnergyStar for efficiency. My recommendation before the heat pump was to buy a washer with a high spin speed.

Washers have been the focus of energy efficiency for years. Now you can buy an energy efficient dryer. Heat pump dryers have been produced in Europe for years by Miele, Electrolux, LG, Whirlpool, Blomberg and others.

The only two full size dryers with a heat pump available in the U.S. are LG and Whirlpool.

We will look at both, the heat pump technology itself and then compare. There are differences worth noting.

Heat pump dryers have proven to be very successful in the European market, where energy costs are higher, and are slowly making their way to the U.S. Whirlpool and Blomberg are already in the market.

Should you buy one?