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Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

energy.gov

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Re: Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

#101

Post by sargun »

yetihehe wrote: post #99
sargun wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do they use the cold side of the heat exchanger to drop the moisture out of the air prior to passing it back through for heating?

Yes, it works exactly this way. I don't have a clothes dryer, but I have condensing air demoisturizer (for places with too much moisture). Works fine when you need to dry some clothes in one room. Also costs MUCH less than full dryer. Air coming out is only a little hotter than room, but sometimes room gets colder due to evaporation from all textiles.

I've thought about buying an old 200mm or 230mm fan, and hooking it up to a Peltier cooler -- First pass the air over the "cold" side to drop out the moisture, then through some rechargeable desiccant, and then through the hot side to my clothes.

I wonder why dryers don't work this way, other than I think that it'd be much slower to dry as compared to a traditional dryer, and I'm not sure if you'd be able to wick the moisture out of ever fabric.

Re: Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

#103

Post by _0w8t »

nnain wrote: post #91
comicjk wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hanging clothes in direct sunlight is overkill, and probably reduces their useful life due to the UV. All you need is sufficient moving air. I hang mine under the deck or just on racks indoors.

Sunlight isn't an overkill. It's a great germ killer (You have to be cautious not to leave them out for too long, lest the UV/Heat damages the colours). You can use a lot of detergent to remove the last bacteria; but household detergents are a big source of water pollution.

Hm, I thought the best way to kill germs is to wash clothes at 60C/140F or higher.

Re: Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

#104

Post by tempestn »

awqrre wrote: post #48
ergothus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Batteries are also (relatively) cheap and easy to replace. If my dryer was $50-$200 and could be carried in one hand, I'd be (grumpily) okay with it only lasting 2 years.

How much does it cost for you to get an iphone battery replaced by Apple ($79)? a basic dryer costs $180 at home depot... http://www.homedepot.com/p/Magic-Chef-Compact-1-5-cu-ft-Elec...

Do you own a dryer? If so, would you want to go out and replace it every two years?

Re: Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

#107

Post by averagewall »

sandworm101 wrote: post #40
yourapostasy wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They likely will sonically baffle any outlet for humidity to avoid this issue. I'm curious if the ultraound causes increased wear of the fabric at the thread ends, for example.

>> sonically baffle any outlet Good point! The water vapour needs a way out. That means a direct air path between the fabric and the outside world. They cannot seal the entire thing in a vacuum bottle to deaden the sound. I see a 50' pipe full of baffles, a giant truck muffler, between this thing and anyone with eardrums.

It seems to produce droplets of cold liquid water, not vapor, so it should be much easier to collect that into a container in a closed system.

There are ultrasonic mist generators for cooling yourself down which probably work on the same principle:

https://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Cool-Mist-Humidifier-Whisp...

Re: Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

#108

Post by riffraff »

_0w8t wrote: post #103
nnain wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sunlight isn't an overkill. It's a great germ killer (You have to be cautious not to leave them out for too long, lest the UV/Heat damages the colours). You can use a lot of detergent to remove the last bacteria; but household detergents are a big source of water pollution.

Hm, I thought the best way to kill germs is to wash clothes at 60C/140F or higher.

it is a good way, but it's also a good way to ruin some more delicate clothing.

Re: Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

#109

Post by briandon »

ams6110 wrote: post #2

A bit puzzled why GE needs government funding to do research -- they make a lot of money already. The idea sounds pretty neat but I wonder about longevity of the piezeoelectric transducers. A clothes dryer needs to last at least 7-10 years, minimum. A resistive heating element is about as simple as you can get, and it's cheap to replace if it does burn out.

It's also a shame that the US DOE has partnered with and is funding R&D for a fully-owned subsidiary (as of 2016 iirc) of a Chinese state-owned company (Haier, which bought GE Appliances).

Re: Ultra-low-energy consumption ultrasonic clothes dryer

#110

Post by [deleted] »

comicjk wrote: post #78
spodek wrote: post #7

It's not the fastest clothes dryer, but I often use one that runs on fusion in outer space.

Hanging clothes in direct sunlight is overkill, and probably reduces their useful life due to the UV. All you need is sufficient moving air. I hang mine under the deck or just on racks indoors.

[deleted]
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