Drying Laundry in New Homes - Preliminary Observations from the UK

This paper explores the issues of new housing and low permeable design in the UK to reduce energy consumption , reviews current standards and recommendations for the drying of clothes and evaluates the science of clothes drying. The UK House building industry is driven by policy and regulation to achieve sustainable and low energy new houses. The current focus on air tight construction however means it is important to balance ventilation of dwellings with the activities undertaken within them; this involves analysis of the behaviour of the occupants who are passive adopters of the new technologies. This paper explores the issues of new housing and low permeable design in the UK to reduce energy consumption. It then looks at current standards and recommendations for the drying of clothes in new homes and evaluates the science of clothes drying and the apparently changing culture with regard to laundry practice. The paper then reports on research carried out on a new housing estate which indicates that up to 96% of people living in new homes own a tumble dryer to dry their clothes, selecting either this high energy method of clothes drying or by drying clothes internally within the property which can lead to higher energy use for heating and also mould growth and poor internal air quality. This poses significant questions on how the policy application for new housing in fact translates to projected energy use and sets out some opportunities for further research into clothes drying which needs to be undertaken to deliver the well-being of occupants and the projected reductions in energy use.