Not much different from political views or soccer favorite, people are very conservative when it comes to their laundry, or at least on how to dry it.
Those who favor laundry lines claim that the tumbling electric dryer damages the clothes, (the residues left in the filter prove that), consumes electricity, which is bad for the carbon dioxide footprint (global warming) and unfriendly to the wallet too.
The other group says that hanging the laundry in the sun causes the colors to fade and exposes the laundry to the mercy of birds and to dust; one cannot hang clothes when it rains and it simply is unaesthetic to display all your underwear for people to see. Plus it takes a lot longer and there is no softener so clothes come out a little rough.
An Israeli company, Aytec Avnim, offers a compromise in the form of a solar clothes dryer.
The dryer, made of lightweight materials looks like a bright box from the outside; the laundry is hanged within and therefore invisible and is not subject to direct sun light which fades colors. It is also protected from dirt and weather. There is no tumbling and therefore no wear. The construction inside the box enables the utilization of the sun’s heat for drying the clothes within a time period which resembles that of the electric dryer, and electric backup enables drying at night and even when it rains.
The dryer comes in two configurations; Foldable and mobile, for easy storage and for putting out of the way while in use. This format is for the DIY market. The other option is more rigid and involves adding the dryer to the building construction itself either as a laundry drying balcony-rail or as substitute for the building’s laundry cover, which is actually often used as air-conditioner cover and not for hanging laundry because it blocks the sun and not always installed facing it.
According to the company, the electric backup can be replaced by the use of the apartment’s hot water tubing and thus reduce heat energy loss when nobody uses the hot water in the house.
Hanging laundry out from a window in Sicily to dry
All in all it is a green gem which reduces the use of electricity even when using it for backup. And therefore the Green Prophets expect it to have a bright green future.
Solar power makes sense. See also:
Green Prophet’s story on the Solar Power Air Conditioning of EWA
A Quick Guide to Israeli Solar Energy Companies
That’s an interesting looking dryer. It might be nice to see it working. Good post.
dear sir. where can i buy a solar clothes dryer and how much will it cost?
i would love to buy one of these dryers, how can i obtain one and the all important question ' how much does it cost? it would not make much sense if it cost so much that it would be cheaper to buy new clothes instead. kind regards, pauline.
It is nice to see these kinds of inventions, it does not have to be a clothesline versus tumble dryer battle all the time. Spin dryers such as at http://www.laundry-alternative.com are another way to tackle the problem, and use about 1% of the energy that a conventional tumble dryer does.
For hot and humid countries, one aspect of everyday life is changing clothes because of the weather. This product, particularly the solar powered cloth dryer is one of the brilliant innovations in the history of man. Imagine hitting two birds with one stone; you are saving electricity even when you are just utilizing it for a back up. This product will go a long way, and I wouldn’t be surprise if one day it will be available worldwide. Indeed, a great way of saving in times of crisis.
Brilliany idea! Where can I buy a solar clothes dryer?