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Comment by matwood | Hacker News Reader

I recently bought a heat pump dryer and it's pretty cool. No exhaust vent, just water drain. It also doesn't need the heavy duty power plug since it pulls so much less electricity than a typical heated air dryer.

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Ah of course - it can recycle the heat. Hot air going out a vent is wasted energy that you've paid for.

I don’t know this thing exists. I need to take a look and maybe buy one when the current one breaks down. What brand did you purchase? Thanks.

I have an LG. They look to cost a premium in the US above heated air one. They also seem to be gentler on clothes since they pump in warm dry air vs. super heated air.

Out of curiosity, is it a "smart" appliance that requires an app to function?

I have an LG heat pump dryer as well, it doesn't require the app to function as far as I understand.

I have an LG washer/dryer (not the cool new heat pump dryer, though) and both have "smart" features that are optional and non-intrusive. You don't have to hook up either appliance to the LG app, but if you do you can get push notifications when a cycle is complete or use it to run diagnostics as needed. Honestly one of the few times where I think smart connectivity is a net benefit and not a reason to steer clear.

I think there’s an app to do app things but I’ve never used it.

I used to have a Bloomberg heat pump dryer when I lived in a historical apartment. I was fairly happy with it, only real downsides was that it did take longer to dry compared to my prior electric and gas dryers, it tended to pickup a musty smell, and it was relatively complex and difficult to repair compared to a simpler dryer (had some minor failures over the years). Upside was the efficiency and not needing an exterior exhaust.

Been a number of years since then, so I'm sure they've improved even more and are hopefully somewhat cheaper.

Technology Connections did a video on heat pump dryers.

https://youtu.be/zheQKmAT_a0?t=930

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