No mention of heat pump air dryers? They save considerable amounts of energy. Probably not enough to make up for the increased costs, though -- AFAICT most people install them because they don't require a vent outdoors.
Additional benefit is that heat pump dryers dry with a lower heat, which is better for the clothes.
Anyone have experience with these? They seem pretty uncommon in the the US. Thinking about pulling the trigger on an all in one heat pump to replace an all in one with a condenser.
So many mixed reviews about heat pump dryers saying they don't dry well.
While it was a pretty big upfront cost, the combo does have the advantage of entirely reimagining how one does laundry! Specifically because it both washes and dries you can just run it overnight and in the morning you take out dry clothes. So no more laundry days; every night is a potential laundry night. Not only is it energy efficient, it also runs on my ultra-low overnight time of day rates, because that is simply the most convenient time of day to run it anyways.
I think the above video review covers basically everything. I do agree the clothes do not come out super dry, and sometimes I do run it a little longer, or let things air out a bit. Clothes are usually fine and sheets are slightly less fine. Also there is no lint trap, so I have to keep wiping out the lint.
Overall I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages with not having to babysit the washing machine ensure wet clothes are transferred to the dryer in a timely fashion.
The default programme, which I almost always use, takes a relatively long time. Clothes have a slightly-damp feeling when it's finished, but it quickly disappears in the time I take to fold them.
Electric dryers, especially older models, are very simple appliances, you can easily repair yourself and keep them running forever. Can't say the same about heat pump or gas dryer
They are widely available. I have the GE heat pump washer+dryer combo. I know people who have the LG and it works pretty well. They dry fine as long as you don't mix heavy clothes with lighter clothes. For most of my not-very-dirty laundry, I run a "quick wash" cycle that finishes washing and drying in 90 minutes.
Since the heat pump doesn't pull air from the exterior your basement will have smaller temp swings as the drier isn't pulling air from the outside cracks (old houses like mine especially.)
My only negative is the lint filter: because the heat exchange coils need to stay cleaner the filter has two stages which means twice as much lint picking.
It was on the expensive side, but we have no issues. It does take a little longer to dry some things. That’s about all the negatives I have.