I remember as a child my mom hanging clothes out in the backyard on a clothes line. These days, most American homes come with a clothes dryer. Clothes dryers are more convenient, work faster, and some may argue that they will keep the clothes cleaner and less wrinkled.
I will offer a few tips as to how to get the most from your clothes dryer and then compare natural gas clothes drying to electric clothes drying.
First, let’s consider a few energy conservation techniques:
1) Clean your lint screen after every use. This allows better air
flow, quicker drying.
2) Periodically, make sure your dryer vent is not kinked or
clogged with lint. A clogged vent can hinder drying and also
become a fire hazard.
3) As much as possible, always dry a full load.
4) When doing more than one load, do them immediately after
each other to benefit from an already hot dryer.
![Clothes Dryer Clothes Dryer](https://blog.fpuc.com/hs-fs/hub/396210/file-1554298074-jpg/clothes_wash.jpg?width=615&name=clothes_wash.jpg)
The two most common types of dryers used are either natural gas or electric
Natural gas dryers use 30,000 BTUs of gas per hour costing approximately $.35-40 per hour of operation.
Electric dryers use 5,500 watts or 5.5 kilowatts per hour or approximately $.60-.68 per hour of operation.
Natural gas dryers operate at a slightly warmer temperature and dry clothes in less time.
Comparing apples to apples, the cost to buy a dryer is slightly higher for a gas dryer but usually within $50 of its electric counterpart.
Florida’s investor-owned natural gas utilities offer a conservation rebate for installing a natural gas dryer for the first time or even as a replacement for an older dryer. Contact your natural gas utility for details.