If you’re out shopping for a new clothes dryer, you’re probably working with a budget – and you want to get the best dryer you can for your money. You may wonder which dryers carry the “Energy Star” label – the blue sticker that indicates energy-efficient products.
Unfortunately for your budget, the answer is none. There are no clothes dryers with an Energy Star label because nearly every dryer uses similar amounts of energy. The Department of Energy's (DOE) Appliance Standards program conducted a study and found that the clothes dryers on the U.S. market do not vary significantly from each other in terms of energy consumption.
These findings are also the reason the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) does not require clothes dryers to have a yellow “EnergyGuide” label.
Over the next few years, the DOE Appliance Standards program will be updating the study to determine whether or not to revise the federal energy conservation standards for dryers.
To reduce the amount of energy your clothes dryer uses:
- Use the moisture sensor option on your dryer, which automatically shuts off the machine when the clothes are dry.
- If your clothes washer has spin options, choose a high spin speed or extended spin option to reduce the amount of remaining moisture, thus starting the drying process before you put your clothes in the dryer.
- Air dry clothes whenever possible.
To learn more about clothes dryers and energy efficiency, please visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.