Uncle Sam wants to make your laundry day more environmentally friendly — and he'll give you up to $840 toward a squeaky clean upgrade. It's thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, a law that could give you some serious cash rebates when buying a climate-friendly dryer.
The 2022 legislation marks Congress' biggest clean energy and climate action to date. Through the IRA, Congress dedicated almost $370 billion to climate action — and some of that money can go straight into your pocket when making climate-minded home upgrades. That includes shifting your shabby, old conventional dryer to an Energy Star-certified electric heat pump dryer.
A standard dryer uses hot air to pull moisture from your clothes, releasing humid air through a vent to the exterior of your home. A heat pump dryer, on the other hand, doesn't expel humid air. Instead, this hot air runs through an evaporator to remove the moisture but keeps the air at a hot temperature. Then, the air is reused again and again by the system to dry. This means less electricity is used to dry your clothing because new air doesn't have to keep heating to high temperatures.
But heat pump dryers can be expensive, often costing upward of $1,000 to $2,000. With IRA savings, however, you could spend less on a heat pump dryer than a new conventional dryer.
In a recent Reddit post asking about heat pump dryers, many commenters lauded the device as a game-changer in their home.
"It is hands down the best appliance I have purchased and has made life with kids substantially easier," the commenter wrote.
"Heat pump dryers are fantastic (especially with the recent government rebate, was a no-brainer)," another commenter added about heat pump dryers in general. "They take longer but they're way more efficient."
Switching to climate-minded home appliances is a key way to protect our planet, including making mindful dryer upgrades. Energy Star reports that conventional dryers are responsible for almost 6% of the average home's energy use. According to The New York Times, conventional dryers use 5-10 times more energy than a standard washing machine.
All that energy use requires a lot of planet-polluting gases as fuel for operation. According to Energy Star data, U.S. dryers alone consume as much energy as the entire state of Massachusetts in one year. Heat pump dryers, however, can reduce energy use by at least 28% compared to standard dryers.
🗣️ When you're buying a kitchen appliance, which of these factors is most important to you?
🔘 Price 💰
🔘 Safety 🦺
🔘 Effectiveness ⚡
🔘 Style and appearance 💎
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
If you could use a new dryer, it's smart to utilize IRA rebates — but navigating the fine print can be complicated. Luckily, electrification nonprofit Rewiring America has a free online savings calculator to help identify tax incentives and rebates available to you. To find out how much you can save on a dryer upgrade, check out Rewiring America's Incentive Calculator.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
