Clothes dryers have been around since the early 20th century, but have enjoyed a number of technological advances in recent decades. Perhaps the most significant change is the arrival of sensor technology, which allows the dryer to detect when the clothes reach the desired level of dryness and switch off automatically. This development is crucial to efforts to make dryers more energy efficient.
Household clothes dryers can use either electricity or gas to heat the moisture out of the clothes. Gas dryers are seen to be more efficient, but installing such appliances might mean putting in a new gas supply, adding extra initial expense. What’s more, gas dryers themselves cost slightly more than their electric colleagues. Still, electric dryers require a 240-volt heavy-duty power supply, which will also need to be specially installed in some cases.
Some new (albeit very expensive) dryers add steam to the clothes during later stages of drying to prevent wrinkling – these so-called steam dryers are expected to become much more widespread in the next few years.
Different sizes of dryer are available for different situations: The largest domestic dryer models measure between 27 and 30 inches in width, but many buyers opt for more-compact 24-inch models that can fit under a laundry-room counter. Top-loading models are also available.
Expect to find the cheapest dryers from about 250 USD, whereas big-name steam dryers begin at more like 900 USD.