Why don't they make clothes dryers with OSA intake options?

[Yikes]

I have a multifamily project in the Coachella Valley (VERY hot for much of the year). the laundry room will require 16 clothes dryers. The client would like to air-condition the laundry room, but it seems like all that expensive cool air will go right out through the dryers. Yes, I'm looking at evaporative cooler options. But my bigger question is: why aren't there clothes dryers that can be fitted with an intake air manifold? What is the technical / regulatory problem?

 

[cda]

Build a wall???
In set them?

Gas or electric or does it matter? Seems like I have walked into cool laundry rooms

 

[Yikes]

Yes, I can build a wall above the dryers to create a supply plenum behind them that has outside air vents.
But the dryers will still sit side-by-side with little gaps between them, a gap on the bottom (dryers legs create a small space), and a gap on the top. So there's a lot of "leakage" from the conditioned space.

I just don't know why, with a goal to increase energy efficiency in our buildings, no manufacturer has provided even the option to directly supply dryer air from the outdoors.

 

[steveray]

Because your clothes would freeze where I live in the winter....Not worth it for the industry to solve a problem that does not affect them directly and is not a one size fits all solution....

 

[Yikes]

Because your clothes would freeze where I live in the winter....Not worth it for the industry to solve a problem that does not affect them directly and is not a one size fits all solution....

But wouldn't it be easy to manufacture all dryers with a single intake duct, just like they already have a single exhaust duct? That way, every installation has the option of drawing supply air from the room, or drawing from the dedicated supply duct.

 

[classicT]

But wouldn't it be easy to manufacture all dryers with a single intake duct, just like they already have a single exhaust duct? That way, every installation has the option of drawing supply air from the room, or drawing from the dedicated supply duct.

I agree that they could easily do it, but think of the issues that may ensue.

From the manufacturers perspective, to make the unit run consistently and with minimal service and decent longevity, it is best to intake clean, dry, tempered air into the unit. If drawing from the outside, a filter must remove dust and other air particulate. Air cannot be humid (depends on local climate and season) or the clothes will never dry. And air should be tempered (don't need heat 150* Arizona summer air, but that -20* Alaska winter air needs some heat added).

Simply put, drawing air from the outside introduces too many variables for a unit that they want to sell across the US, possibly internationally. Drawing air from and habitable environment reduces the range of these variables and allows the manufacturer to simplify their design.

 

[jeffc]

A heat pump clothes dryer may be an option to consider. https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/heat-pump-clothes-dryers#:~:text=A heat-pump clothes dryer is,discharged into a drain pipe.

 

[tmurray]

I'm not sure about the heat pump option. I think he would be back where he started. The models without exterior exhaust mean more heat in his conditioned space (upsize your cooling equipment). The models with exterior exhaust have the same issue as the OP.

I would agree with others that the reason it is not offered as an option is that you could do some really stupid things with it.

 

[north star]

@ ~ @ ~ @

Yikes,

What I see typically in the Commercial laundry-mats
in this area are: (1) a whole room full of dryers; mostly
natural gas type, with little or no air conditioned environment,
and (2) the dryers installed in a row and on top of each
other, that is completely "walled off" from the conditioned
area..........The dryers have incoming air from screened
louvered intakes from the "non-conditioned area" and their
own individual exhaust pipes.

This set-up DOES produce a comfortable setting for the
users of the washers and dryers.........Not sure about any
[ REAL ] energy efficiency.

Manufacturers aren't going to create a new, energy
efficient appliance until they can realistically expect a long
term profit from their efforts [ i.e. - recouping from their
R & D ].

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