Second to the refrigerator, the clothes dryer is a household’s worst offender in terms of energy efficiency. For an average household in the United States, a clothes dryer takes up 6 percent of the total energy use, costing each household around $100 per year in energy, and emitting 1,440 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air. In fact, clothes dryers are so inefficient, that energy star doesn’t label a single one.
The good news is that drying clothing in a machine is not necessary. Okay, I realize it is convenient, but if your goals and priorities are a healthy planet, sometimes convenience takes a back seat.
In reality though, avoiding a dryer is not really that hard. The sun provides plenty of free energy, and depending on where you live, you can probably dry your clothes outside in the open air most of the year. Think of the benefits: money saved, and a little extra exercise to help you stay fit. And nothing beats the smell of clothes dried outside in the warm, summer air.
