Heat Pump, Condenser and Vented Tumble Dryers

Vented tumble dryers usually have the lowest upfront cost of the three types of dryers to purchase. They use a heating element to dry your clothes, meaning they are the most expensive tumble dryer to run.

Vented dryers need a vent hose to expel the moisture extracted from your clothes to the outside. This means they will need to be installed by an external wall or a window, which might not always be convenient.

A condenser tumble dryer is similar to a vented dryer in that they both use a heating element to dry your clothes. However, unlike vented tumble dryers, a condenser dryer collects the moisture extracted from your clothes into an easy to empty container. This means there is no need for a vent hose, so they can be installed wherever is convenient for your household. The water tank must be emptied after every cycle.

A condenser is a little more expensive than a vented model, but you do get the added convenience of being able to install wherever you’d prefer.

A heat pump dryer is the most modern, energy efficient and financially sustainable type of tumble dryer, but is generally the most expensive at the point of purchase. Unlike the traditional vented and condenser models, heat pump dryers don’t use a heating element to dry laundry, instead they use recirculated air to dry at much lower temperatures.

The low temperatures mean heat pumps cost much less to run, and they take better care of your clothes. Similar to why eco cycles on washing machines take longer, heat pump drying cycles will  take longer than condenser or vented dryers to dry your laundry because they dry at lower temperatures.

Heat pumps also collect extracted moisture in a tank, meaning they can be installed wherever is convenient for your home - though ideally not within garages or outdoor buildings as they’re most effective in household temperatures.

While heat pump dryers will be more expensive to purchase,  the amount of money you will save on your energy bills, and the savings you’ll make from your clothes lasting longer, will usually offset that initial increased cost.

On average, using a heat pump dryer will cost 63p per cycle, whilst a condenser model would cost £1.78 per cycle.

The Hotpoint NT M11 8X3XB UK ActiveCare heat pump tumble dryer could save you £6,386* in energy costs over the lifetime of the appliance compared to the least efficient 8kg tumble dryer in the market As well as caring for your wallet, the ActiveCare technology in this heat pump dryer also cares for your clothes. The low temperature drying cycles minimise stress on the fibres of your laundry, which reduces fabric wear out by up to 50%**, so you can wear your favourite items time and time again. You can find out how much you’d save with a heat pump dryer by using the YourEko calculator on the Hotpoint website, visible on each of the product pages.

Making sure you use your appliance correctly can help you to reduce running costs. If you’re using a heat pump dryer, try to avoid opening the door mid-cycle to check if your clothes are dry. As heat pumps take longer to reach maximum operating temperatures, by opening the door you’ll interrupt this and the dryer will have to work harder to get back to the right temperature, meaning extra time will be added to the cycle.

Always make sure you clean the filter and empty the water tank (where appropriate) after each cycle.

To make sure your tumble dryer performs at maximum efficiency, you should clean the filter after every cycle. The filter is located at the bottom of the porthole when you open the door. Remove the filter by lifting it up. You can scrape away all the fluff and then run it under a tap to completely clean it. Wait for it to dry before placing it back inside the tumble dryer. If you want to know more about taking care of your tumble dryer, check out our step-by-step guide for cleaning your dryer.

*Saving calculated by Youreko and are based on the energy usage of models H1 D80W UK, H3 D81WB UK, and NT M11 8X3XB UK compared to the least efficient 8kg model in the market, operating on the standard cotton cupboard dry programme as published on product fiche or energy label, completing 254 cycles per year (5 per week) over 13 years, with an average current energy cost of 34p per kWh and an average annual increase in electricity costs of 4.92% per year. Further details on calculations can be found at Hotpoint.co.uk. Savings calculated 25/11/2022 and may vary depending on other factors such as usage, energy cost fluctuations, cycle type etc.

**Up to 40% based on jeans programs without ActiveCare. ​