Partner: Gas Technology Institute

This project was a savings evaluation of a product that converts a standard clothes dryer into a smart dryer, informing users when clothes are dry.

Overview

When using a residential clothes dryer, many customers waste energy by running the dryer on a timer setting, drying clothing for longer than necessary. This device is a retrofit technology to turn an electric residential dryer into a smart dryer. A temperature and humidity sensor is attached to the dryer drum via a permanent magnet to monitor when the clothes are dry. Users can take action to shut off the dryer upon the notification to their smartphone, or manually at the machine to save energy. There is potential to pair the monitoring device with a smart plug to shut off the dryer on its own after the smartphone application notifies the smart plug.

The project team conducted both laboratory and field evaluation tests of this dryer moisture sensor on electric clothes dryers in residential applications.

Results and Outcomes

While the devices demonstrated savings in a lab test scenario, serious performance issues developed during field evaluation. As such, further research will not be conducted at this time.