Hank Hill? Anybody?

October 25, 2011 10:09 PM

How much energy does a propane clothes dryer use?

I am shocked at how ungoogleable this information is. A gas dryer (in this case, the fuel is propane, not NG) has two fuels that it consumes: gas, to make heat, and electricity, to move the drum. I cannot find information on either how much gas or how much electricity the typical gas dryer uses per cycle. We are looking at moving, and, in order to estimate utility costs in the new location, I'd like to be able to figure this out.

(Yes, I do line dry outdoors, but for 5-6 months out of the year, I need a dryer.)

posted by Leta to Home & Garden (1 answer total)

Best answer: Some manufacturers list the gas and power requirements for their appliances. This random GE model lists 6A at 120V (720W) and 22000 BTU/hr for gas. These seem pretty typical across their entire price range. 1 gallon of propane contains 92,000 BTU. So for a 30 minute drying cycle, figure your costs for 0.36 kW-h and 0.12 gallons of propane.

To compare, an electric dryer lists 5600W for 240V. So that's 2.8 kW-h for a 30 minute cycle.
posted by zsazsa at 10:58 PM on October 25, 2011