Appliance Guide for Home Owners

Contents:

• How Much does Your Appliance Cost to Operate?
• Ventless Dryers: Are they a viable option?
• How long Will It Last?

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How Much does Your Appliances Cost to Operate?

Only when our kids become adults will they appreciate why we want them to turn off the lights—it costs hard-earned money to pay the bills. The following formula will help you figure out how much each appliance is costing to operate. Being aware of these costs will bring about a greater appreciation for conservation and will save you more than a few dollars in the process.

The cost to operate appliances is based on the following:

1. The cost of fuel
2. The time the appliance is operating
3. The fuel type and quantity required

The cost of fuels varies depending on your geographic location and utility company. Electricity may cost consumers approximately 4¢ per kilowatt hour (kwh) in Spokane or Seattle, Wash. to approximately 17¢ per kwh in Long Island, NY. One kwh of electricity produces 3412 British Thermal Units (BTUs) of heat/energy.

To determine the monthly cost to operate electric appliances or lighting, you need to multiply the wattage of the appliances or lighting by the number of hours each is used per day. Then multiply this by the number of days in the month times the cost of the fuel.

Here's an example:
4,500 watts (water heater) divided by 1,000 X approximately 6 hours per day X 30 days X .11¢ per kwh of electricity. Multiply this times 12 for the annual cost.

• 4,500 watts divided by 1,000 = 4.5 kilowatts.
• 4.5 kilowatts X 4 hours per day = 18 kilowatts per day.
• 18 kilowatts per day X 30 days = 540 kilowatts per month.
• 540 kilowatts per month X .11¢ kwh = $59.40 per month.
• $59.40 per month X 12 months = $712.80

Here is a list of appliances and their approximate cost to operate.
These figures are based on rates of 11.4¢/kwh (electric) and 63¢ therm (natural gas):

So when your kids complain about having to run back upstairs to turn off the lights, tell them the exact amount they’re saving the family. If they are smart, they’ll probably ask to use that saved money to buy something valuable, like a carton of ice cream.

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Ventless Dryers: Are they a Viable Option?

Because of occasional difficulty in installation and the lack of aesthetic quality, some homeowners are interested in ventless dryers. Ventless dryers are somewhat of a European phenomenon. As far as can be determined, no major American appliance manufacturer makes such a device. Their function is most likely similar to some European dishwashers that collect humidity from the washing process and condense it in a bladder. The condensate then flows to a drain.

This is the only way I could see a "ventless" dryer working. If the vent was allowed to discharge freely into the house air with, perhaps, a lint filter screen in the vent pipe somewhere, the moisture in the exhaust air would quickly cause problems throughout the house.

A large load of laundry can contain several gallons of water. Releasing that much moisture and more into a house on a daily basis would mean you’d have water running down the inner plane of every window during the winter as the moisture condensed on the cold glass surface. The moisture would also condense on cold walls as well, and would provide a growing medium for molds and mildews. It would also seep into the attic and walls, soaking the insulation.

These conditions are common in homes with basement water penetration, or that have dryers with disconnected vents or vents that do not discharge to the outside. Most houses are simply not built to handle such excessive amounts of moisture. And we haven’t even discussed the potential of adding to the house pollution level, both from lint and the byproducts of combustion from gas-burning appliances. Dryers, at least American dryers, should be vented to the outside.

So, homeowners should either dedicate considerable time to finding a foreign dryer or they can deal with the venting of an American model. In making the decision, be sure to explore the availability of parts and service for the appliance that is chosen.

Well, American dryer it is? Let’s go venting.

There has to be a way to vent a dryer in just about any home situation. If the laundry room is on a second floor, the vent could be run in the joists space between floors and out a side wall. Admittedly, this should be a secondary choice. Unless the pipe was carefully insulated, you may hear the dryer running in the rooms below or above where the vent passes through the floor.

One might also consider passing the vent pipe through the attic and out the roof. Although this, too, is not ideal, it can work if the pipe is insulated well. Insulation will cut down on condensation inside the pipe as it passes through the cold attic. But don’t terminate the vent into the attic. The moisture in the exhaust air may condense on some of the attic components. Deterioration, bacteria, and fungus are concerns.

Ideally, a dryer vent should have a short, straight run, directly out a side wall. The dryer you buy will have specifications concerning the length of pipe allowed. Keep in mind that each 90 degree elbow creates friction and reduces the allowable pipe length by eight feet. You should use 30 degree and 45 degree elbows.

Using either rigid sheet metal duct pipe (ideal) or flexible metal duct (less ideal) is also recommended. Stay away from plastic vent duct. It sags, and the interior walls have a lot of ridges where lint can collect. This lint is very fine, dry, and flammable. A spark can cause it to ignite. Dryer vent fires are somewhat common in this country, about 13,000 occur each year.

Be sure to slope the vent pipe back toward the dryer, and, if you need to run the pipe through an unheated area, consider adding a tee fitting with a short leg beneath the main pipe. This will allow you to inspect the pipe for condensation, and possibly drain it if that becomes necessary.

Finally, seal both the longitudinal and transverse seams in the duct with a good quality duct tape. Don’t use sheet metal screws to hold the pipe together, the points on the screws will collect lint and impede air flow.

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How Long Will It Last?

How nice it would be if we had a crystal ball to tell us how long the systems, appliances, and building materials in our home would last! Unfortunately, this is the "real world" and

no such item exists. The next best bet is to consult the following list of "Life Expectancies for Residential Equipment and Materials." It will give a good idea of how long these items typically last.

The ranges below may vary a little based on a number of factors, including:

1. Quality of the equipment and/or materials.
2. Proper application and/or use of the equipment and materials.
3. The proper capacities of the equipment and/or materials.
4. Varying amounts and type of usage.
5. Exposure to different weather and geographical conditions.
6. Quality of fuels, water, and air to which the equipment is exposed.
7. Future high-tech equipment, materials, and applications (that may increase or decrease life expectancies).
8. Quality of workmanship used in the installation.

Other Information
The interior wood structural system is dependent on conditions inside the house which could be created by design or human living situations. In most situations, you will see few wood or masonry structural concerns before a house reaches 30 to 40 years old and real problems begin to develop.

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