What uses more energy a tumble dryer or radiators?

Question

Hi, I live in an apartment so cannot hang my washing out to dry, recently we have been using the radiators to dry our washing, but this seems to take ages so my question is does it use more energy to use a tumble dryer for 1 hour or the radiators for 3 hours???

Answer 1

I'd say a bar radiator is less efficient. Any sort of fan forced heating/convection (as in a dryer) is more efficient than radiated heat. To put it in perspective, it's like comparing yourself trying to get warm under those heat lamps people install in their bathrooms, to a fan heater which will warm the room, rather than the surfaces of objects nearest to it (like a radiator).

Bar radiators are dangerous also, and are the cause of many house fires when people leave clothes drying unattended in front of them, which scorch the clothing and eventually catch fire. This is because the heat output from bar radiators is only felt very close to the element itself because it is not fan-forced.

Buy a dryer - they probably use half as much power and dry clothes 5 times as quickly. And it's not an insurance risk. Most heaters draw full amperage from supply (10 amps or 2400W in Australia) but clothes dryers only draw a few amps, so are cheaper to run for the time they operate.