What you will save if you use the sun to dry your clothes

It is not only the traditional way of removing moisture from fabrics, it is also the most environmentally responsible technique because it uses less electricity, avoids the use of raw materials and the generation of future electronic waste. Find out how much you can save each year by not using a clothes dryer.

How much does it cost in euros per year to dry your clothes in a dryer?

To calculate the cost is euros per year to use a dryer, you need to take into account a number of factors, including the following: The purchase cost, how old it is, the energy efficiency label, the duration of the cycles and the frequency with which it is used

• What is the lifespan of a clothes dryer? Dryers usually last 11 to 12 years, according to the OCU. Although in extreme cases this can vary between 9 and 17 years, the average is rather low. After ten years, they stop working properly and become electronic waste that will need to be properly recycled.
• How much does a clothes dryer cost? If the energy efficiency label is very low (not recommended), dryers can cost about 250 euros. If it is high, the cost can be about 950 euros. Mid-range driers cost between 700 and 750 euros.
• How much does a dryer consume per use?  Depending on the efficiency of the dryer, it is estimated that they consume between 1.12 kWh and 2.8 kWh per drying cycle, although there are programmes that can consume significantly more.
• How often do you use the dryer? In Spain, clothes dryer are used relatively little, as the vast majority of households do not even have one, unlike in other countries with a higher per capita energy consumption, and these are usually those with fewer hours of daylight, colder temperatures and fewer sunny days per year. But it is reasonable to think that if you have one you are going to use it at least once a week. About 52 times a year, sometimes more if there are children.

It could be said that the cost of not hanging out the laundry is about 70 euros per year. This means that it can cost a family less than 100 euros per year to dry their clothes. It may not seem like much, but if you take into account that if you air dry your clothes it is not only free, you also considerably reduce your environmental impact, so it is worth considering alternatives to using a dryer.

The best alternative for drying clothes

Where can you hang out the laundry if you do not put it in the dryer? There are a number of options such in front of façades, in interior patios, on shared rooftops, balconies, in the kitchen, etc. But not all homes have the same indoor or outdoor areas. In detached single-family homes, it is easy to hang out clothes outside, because there is usually a garden or other types of open spaces. But in flats, you have to look for more creative alternatives, such as a shared rooftop common to all the residents of the block. Many buildings from the end of the last century have communal clothes lines on the rooftop.

However, there are also plenty of single pitched or double-pitched roofs that make it unfeasible to use the roof as a solar clothes dryer. In these cases, you will often find the two or three clothes lines located just under the kitchen window, so the entire width of the façade can be used to hang out several rows of garments. This is very clever solution because in summer, the garments hanging on the line prevent sunrays from reaching the façade, especially things like bed sheets hanging outside prevent the inside of the home from heating up.

But when hanging up clothes outside is not possible for structural reasons, you will need to hang up the clothes inside. This may be the living room, or guest room, and sometimes it will even be the kitchen (when you are not cooking, of course). In hot seasons, which are becoming more and more frequent in Spain, there can be an added advantage to drying your clothes inside: Water evaporation is an endothermic process that extracts energy from the environment. Yes, hanging up clothes to dry inside cools the rooms, and to a certain extent it is an alternative to air conditioning, so not using a clothes dryer represents a double saving.

Air drying clothes, a community and neighbourhood demand

Unfortunately, the bylaws of many neighbourhood communities prohibit clothes lines on the façade, which obliges families to dry clothes inside the house or even to buy a dryer.

The Leasehold Property Law makes it clear that any aesthetic modification of the façade requires the approval of the community. That is why it is worth pointing out the importance of the following tips with regard to energy-saving measures that will convince everyone with regard to these natural drying systems:

• Drying clothes in the sun is an effective and inexpensive way to reduce energy consumption in a scenario of environmental and climate crisis. Manufacturing a clothes dryer uses energy and resources, and using it still uses a lot of energy, since we need to produce the electricity to make it work.
• Taking advantage of solar heat is a very beneficial alternative for the collective savings of a neighbourhood community. A clothes dryer requires an initial outlay and an annual expense that not all families can afford.

Just as residents' associations give permission for the installation of air conditioners and solar self-consumption photovoltaic panels, it would also be advisable for them to give permission for neighbours to hang a couple of clothes lines in front of their windows where they can dry their clothes using the heat from the atmosphere and solar radiation. This is one way we can further promote the creation of sustainable buildings, by recovering traditional customs to care of the environment.