THE Energy Efficiency & Appliance Thread (merged)

PhilBiker · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 1326

Hey do you think using my toaster oven for small baking needs like broiling meat is a good idea? The main oven in my kitchen is a conventional electric oven, I ususally use the toaster oven for small jobs, I figure it uses less electricity to heat such a small area. .... though the toaster oven is nowhere near as efficient as far as insulation and such. Keep the door closed and the big oven is airtight, the toaster oven has a loose door.

JoeW · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:24 pm Post subject:

I believe the most efficient household device for heating your food would be the microwave.

PhilBiker · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 1326

But that has nothing to do with answering my question. Mad

You want to broil meat or bake in the microwave, go right ahead.

MonteQuest

BabyPeanut · Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:06 am Post subject:

BabyPeanut

Click

pea-jay · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 12:35 am Post subject:

Didn't know that. Fortunately my dryer is situated outside of the main living space.

I try and dry with the sun whenever possible. Wife complains about the stiff clothes. Gotta use the dryer in the winter here. No sun-just rain or fog, which is not conducive to drying anything.
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MarkR · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:36 am Post subject:

If you can get one, get a dryer with a condenser. These don't need venting, and will heat the room they are installed in very effectively. They also provide a source of soft water for ironing.

If your house is too hot and you are actively running AC, you have to question the appropriatness of using the dryer in that situation - is there any way you could use a washing line?

JR · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 6:01 am Post subject:

I haven't used my dryer in months. Even now in the winter, I have clothesline strung in the basement and drying racks in an unused bedroom. It only takes about a day to hang-dry clothes inside. Once spring comes, the clothes go back outside.

My gas bill dropped over a hundred dollars from one month to the next this winter when I stopped using my clothes dryer.

To help keep the clothes from being stiff either use fabric softner or vinegar in the rinse water.

Jodi

PhilBiker · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 1326

Some newer dryers have moisture sensors built in so that as soon as the clothes are dry they kick off instead of being timed and heating up dry clothes.

uNkNowN ElEmEnt · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:54 pm Post subject:

Using the leg of a pair of nylons will also keep lint from being blown everywhere. Clothes really do last longer when you don't use a dryer but I can't help giving into the luxury of a soft comfy towel right after a bath. Very Happy

Ludi · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 4:57 pm Post subject:

I admit I'm a clothes dryer junkie. It's a bad habit I really need to break and I'm going to work on it, just as soon as I dry this next batch of towels.....

JR · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 5:14 pm Post subject:

I really don't find my towels to be to terribly stiff as long as I use liquid fabric softener in the washer. I have heard that vinegar will do the same thing, but I haven't tried it yet.

Another way to soften up the towels a bit after line-drying is to give them a quick snap before folding them.

Jodi

BabyPeanut · Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 6:47 pm Post subject:

I have an electric clothes dryer. 5paperbag

I added a diverter box. While I was doing the research I found out that the vinyl exaust tube that came with the house was a fire hazard so I replaced that with a metal exaust tube.

The diverter makes nice warm, moist air in the house but it needs a little air freshener spray. I'm using a frankensense product.

I use all-natural liquid softener in the wash. Ewww icon_puke_r

scratchy towels icon_puke_l

gg3 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 7:27 pm Post subject:

Caution re. clothes lines in basements: possible mold hazard.
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Fabric softeners also cause premature fabric wear.
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The only sanitation/health-related requirements for use of a dryer are a) to kill & remove parasites e.g. when you know you have fleas, lice, and their eggs, on clothing, bedding, animal bedding, etc., b) to prevent formation of mold on clothes, sheets, etc. that can occur if damp clothes are hung for more than 24 hours without becoming completely dry, and c) to quasi-sterilize clothing and bedding used by people with contagious illnesses. Aside from those three cases, we should be seeking to reduce dryer usage as far as possible.
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To reduce dryer time significantly:
Hang-dry indoors overnight; this will usually get most of the moisture out, and can reduce dryer time by half.
Get a high-speed spin-dryer. As a separate appliance, e.g. SpinX (about $450), or as the spin-tub on a twin-tub washer (about $300, also saves water in the wash/rinse cycles), these will further cut dryer time by half.
Or, some European-made front-loading washers let you adjust spin-dry speed; in this case use the highest speed offered.

Using a spinner (or high-speed spin cycle) *and* hanging overnight, you can cut dryer time by 3/4 or more. So instead of an hour per load, 10 - 15 minutes.
All of these steps require more "manual intervention" than most people are used to when doing laundry. But you save 75% or more, of the energy that would otherwise be used for the dryer. and still get fluffy towels & soft jeans.
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My point being, this does not have to be an either/or dichotomy between the indulgence of warm & fluffy and the austerity of stiff & scratchy. As with everything else we do that uses energy, there's a viable middle ground between profligacy and puritanism.