Would you buy a heat pump or condenser dryer (while you still can)

[AInightingale]

I have to make this decision as mine (a condenser, Beko, had a decent enough 11 years) is giving up the ghost and the govt is banning the sale of them from Jan next year. I have heard so many mixed things about heat pump dryers (though saving money would be good obviously). I really cba with a machine that will take hours to dry clothes, as I would never go out or to bed with a machine running. Do you need to spend more on a decent model, ie would I be better buying a lower priced condenser model than a lower priced heat pump one?

I thought the same, I used our neighbours heat pump one after ours broke and it took aaaaaages. But I think the technology has improved a lot in the last few years, we got a heat pump dryer and it does a full load in just under 2 hours, which is about the same amount of time as our old condenser took if I stuck it on low to prevent everything shrinking. It's also about the same time my preferred washer cycle takes so means I can keep the laundry ticking over, I'm not waiting for the previous load to dry before I can put the next one in.

We recently bought a heat pump one. I love it.
I only use it when Im in (but I’m often in) e.g it’s working at the moment. It has different programs so I have flexibility of shorter cycle for small amount or longer cycle for all bedding and towels.

I got a Hisense heat pump last year and love it. Costs me about 20p to dry a load. Normally takes about 2 hours.

I have both - Bekos- in 2 properties. The heat pump is way too slow for me, the condenser is brilliant

I have a 10 year old Miele condenser, it’s brilliant.

We changed over to a heat pump when the old condenser died. I don't mind it apart from the fact that duvet covers end up rolling up into a ball and don't get dry which was never a problem before. You have to use bobbles to tie the corners together in a certain way to stop the thing tangling up.

Heat pump for me. Had mine 7 years now and love it

I’ve had 2 condensers and they’ve sucked for me op. I hate them! Said to mil who had gotten one at the same time years ago and loved it and she told me actually she detested it and changed it the second it broke! Hit and miss whether they’ll dry or you have to put it in again (admitted to me by the salesperson a year after I’d bought it!) Thinking of getting a heat pump when this finally packs it in-god I miss vented!!!!

Crikey. Now I am even more undecided!
The cons of hps for me would be noise - nearly every reviewer on Argos has given a very low rating for this - and our kitchen is right behind the living room and we eat in it, and the longer cycles. My Beko does a lot of loads in under 60 minutes and is B rated, but the cost going forward is still a concern with the price of electric shooting up, obviously.

We have the same. So much gentler on clothes and noticeably cheaper to run.

We have Bosch serie 6. I’m very particular about noise so it was my main priority (not the energy use ☺️ but it’s also very energy efficient) I also wanted to have the variety of programs as I often need something to dry urgently for DD.
You wouldn’t have regular family dinner in the kitchen with it on (you could in principle as a one off) but in the room next to it - it’s fine. It’s what we do.
if I do something in the kitchen and want listening radio - I put it on a pause but if I just do washing / cooking for a bit - it’s fine.
I do have my lunch regularly sitting next to it reading emails.
Hope it helps.

I’d like to change my 27 year old condenser dryer for a heat pump dryer when my condenser eventually gives up. I suspect its age means it’s costing me a fortune to run, but I’ve stopped looking at the smart meter when it’s on.

I'm dreading when my 20 year old vented dryer breaks. My dryer is in my garage and I understand that heat pump ones don't work in unheated outbuildings, so I have no idea what I'll do.

I love my heat pump dryer, it doesn't take hours at all. I don't think it was that expensive? It wasn't the cheapest but it wasn't the most expensive either. Maybe £400 ish? It is a Beko one. I looked up a lot of different reviews/comparisons and leant towards the ones that said they tended a bit too dry for the "iron" setting (which I will never use) but were good at the "cupboard dry" setting (which is what I want).

One thing to bear in mind is the heat pump ones apparently tend to be uneconomical to repair. So if you prefer to keep repairing a machine and make it last longer, condenser might be a better bet. If you tend to use appliances for the ~8-10 years and then replace rather than repair, heat pump might make more sense.

Then the other use case is if you'll have it in an unheated room, a heat pump uses residual heat and this dissipates too quickly in a cold room to be much use, so they can be unsuitable for these spaces.

I have a 6 year old Candy heat pump dryer. Its noisy and I'm not sure it saves any electricity as it takes 3 times as long to dry as get anything dry.

I got a Beko heat pump one about a year ago and I hate it. Im going to buy another condenser/vented one as it is just too slow for a family of 5 to get 2 or 3 loads done im a day.
It also stops too spom before things are fully dry so I have to be in to set it off again so I dont end up woth foisty smelling clothes.
Id rather pay more to run it and get washing done quickly.

Check whether your current one is a B on the new rating scale or the older one (with the A+ A++ A++++ etc) because if you're comparing new to old, it's possible that a C or D on the new scale is more energy efficient than an old B. There is a comparison chart somewhere.

I find ours OK for noise if I can shut a door on it, we have it in a bathroom (in mainland EU) and we can have the DC in the bath with it on, I wouldn't find it very relaxing, but they don't seem to mind. We did previously have it in a kitchen which had no door, and it wasn't horrendously noisy. TBH I find the low level hum more disturbing than the actual tumbling sound. But as someone else said, you can always pause the cycle. One thing I am not keen on with mine is that it has an annoying "anti crease function" which whenever the clothes are inert, so a paused cycle, a time delay cycle or a cycle which has ended, it will tumble them for about 30 seconds every 10 minutes and this can't be turned off. To stop it after the cycle, I have to go and physically turn the machine off. It drives me mad because I find this intermittent noise much more disturbing than a constant one. It's the only thing I dislike about it though.

If your current one isn't too old then it should have an EU data sheet showing the noise level, so you can compare with any potential purchase. Bear in mind how the decibel scale increases because a small increase can mean roughly twice as loud.

Because they use lower heat, theoretically they are meant to be less of a fire risk. I am not sure how true this is or whether it's more that condensers and vented dryers might be more overrepresented in appliance fires because they will tend to be older.

I could have written your post OP. My 11 year old dryer just gave up on me and DH is wanting a heat pump one. I often used the dryer for emergency drying in the mornings for uniforms or pe kit so a pump dryer won’t suit me.

I have a heat pump one. Lasted 11 months. Everything takes hours to dry so factor in the noise

I would buy two and store them in the room next to the boxes of incandescent light bulbs and high power vacuum cleaners.

I went from a cheap vented one to a Bosch heat pump, think it was £700 and it's useless. It doesn't stop when the load is dry or keep going if the washing is still wet so can't trust it. If I open the door to check it won't restart the programme. Bosch say this is correct so I now just have to keep putting it on the quick programme until it's dry, which can take 3 goes. It won't even start on things like fleece throws as they only feel damp after washing. Wish I'd bought a Beko.

I'm really happy with my heat pump dryer. It's very quiet and is much gentler on clothes than the condenser it replaced - nothing shrinks! And it's significantly cheaper to run.

The compromise is it takes longer to dry, but that's fine. And there is an express setting if I couldn't wait for something.

I think the move to heat pumps is going to be very hard on people who are carers who have to do a lot of laundry like bedclothes daily etc. You would rely on just getting it done quickly every day and less about the cost.

How warm does the room have to be for a heat pump? I’m thinking about getting one but it would be in the conservatory. It’s heated but noticeably cooler than the house on a cold day

I just got a Hisense heat pump washer dryer and it is fantastic so far. Only had it for a few months so can't speak to it's longevity, but it came with a 5 year warranty I think. It was expensive but obvs it's a 2 in 1, which is what I needed. I run loads overnight whilst the electricity is cheaper and wake up to clean, dry laundry. It is so quiet. My bedroom is directly above the utility room and it hasn't disturbed me yet.

ETA: it's got a great lint filter that is really easy to access and clean at the top of the machine near the detergent drawer (and it's autodosing, which is fab too!). Lint filter does need cleaning after every dry cycle but it takes a few seconds to scrap the lint off.