Electric vs Gas Dryers
Clothes dryers are common household appliances in many developed countries, particularly the united States. Millions of such appliances are manufactured every year. They are indeed valuable domestic devices as they are reliable, and make the chore of drying clothes and garments fast and easy. Additionally, the production cost of these appliances is very cheap and easy as well.
Principally, dryers are not as complicated as many people may think. A clothes dryer has a tumbler to hold the clothes, and a heater that heats the air that is drawn through it. The air that passes through heats up, and dries the clothes inside the tumbler, as the tumbler rotates for a balanced exposure. The water from the clothes will, of course, vaporize, and be sucked out by the dryer’s exhaust vent. These are the primary elements of clothes dryers. The heater, however, will generally have two ways to create heat. It is either by natural gas or by electric power. Thus, there are categorically two types of dryers, the electric dryer and the gas dryer.
Each has it’s own advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of them:
Electric dryers are usually cheaper to buy. However, the operating cost is considerably more expensive. Drying the clothes with electric dryers takes a bit more time, and time is money, especially when electric power is involved in the heating process. The heating element in electric dryers will consume lots of power, which is typically more than 4,000 watts.
On the other hand, electric dryers are easy to install, since electric sockets, plugs, and extensions are readily available. This feature is perhaps the main advantage of electric dryers over their gas counterparts, since gas dryers will certainly need a gas line and an optional gas meter for monitoring purposes.
Gas dryers are a bit more expensive. However, their edge is their considerably cheaper operating cost. Over time, the cheap cost of operation will prove to be a good investment. The time it takes to dry clothes with a gas dryer is quicker; therefore, only a small amount of gas is needed. Nowadays, gas dryers are smarter, since they already have sensors to make the appliance shut off when the desired dryness is achieved.
Summary:
1. Electric dryers are cheaper to buy, but have significantly higher operating costs. Gas dryers, on the other hand, are slightly more expensive, but have low operating costs.
2. Electric dryers are easier to install than gas dryers.
3. Electric dryers require more time to dry clothes, while gas dryers are quicker and more efficient.