subject: Energy Efficiency Saves Lives And Money [print this page] Every day money is thrown away with the rising cost of energy. This expensive reality is actually beneficial to mankind in innumerous ways. Energy costs rise as our resources, fossil fuels are depleted. There is a greater demand, and less is available to meet it. If it costs more, John Q. Public becomes more aware of how much he is using and what he is spending on his energy driven lifestyle. Lights get turned off, when driving is avoidable, walking and bike riding are pleasant alternatives and everyone is carefully re-evaluating their vehicles and appliances.
Clothes dryers are typically the second or third largest energy-consuming appliances used in the home. A properly installed and cleaned dryer will cost 30 to 40 cents per load. Over the expected lifetime, the average clothes dryer will cost you approximately $1,530 to operate. Sure $1,530 doesn't seem like a great deal of money over an extended period of time, but lint build up decreases the efficiency of the dryer by 50%, that number rises exponentially. Good thing you have that money tree growing out back.
If the dryer vent is not cleaned out and the lint build up continues, the air flow becomes even more restricted and the energy / cost for drying your clothes could double.
So why don't more people get their dryer cents cleaned? Many are not aware of dryer vent cleaning, or its just not a priority or high on the to do list. It is often ignored until the appliance repair man tells you, "Your clothes dryer is operating just fine. The reason your clothes aren't drying is because your dryer vent is clogged. You need to have your dryer vent cleaned". So, not only will dryer vent cleaning save you wasted energy and money it will also save you the cost of a service call from the repairman.
Frighteningly lint build up is costing John Q. Public a much greater price than anyone should ever have to pay. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in one year clothes dryers have been associated with 15,600 fires, those 15,600 fires took 20 lives and injured 370 others. Those 15,210 not injured or killed suffered emotional pain, traumatic stress and know now that their loss and the damage could have been avoided.
The benefits are great enough, dryer vent cleaning doesn't cost money it saves money. The energy and cost savings are so dramatic; the savings can quickly pay for the dryer vent cleaning service.
Clogged dryer vents are one of the leading causes of residential fires. Residential fires from dryer vents are so common and so predictable that many insurance companies will not insure a multi tenant building unless the dryer vents are all cleaned at least every two years.
If only one or two appliances in your home use more energy than your dryer, and its efficiency directly affects your pocket book, what's keeping you?
