Boost business with LPG tumble dryers

Published:  14 July, 2016

Calor is urging rural installers to become qualified in fitting LPG tumble dryers, in order to tap into a new market and boost their business.

Recent research has found that LPG tumble dryers cost around 25% less to run than standard electric dryers, making them a suitable appliance for the two million UK homes that are off the mains gas grid.

In recommending the switch to LPG home heating from alternatives such as electricity, oil, or solid fuel, Calor says installers can benefit from the additional work alongside this conversion, such as fitting a new LPG boiler and tumble dryer – as well as other LPG appliances such as fires and cookers.

LPG tumble dryers use the gas to heat the air inside the dryers, which in turn dries the laundry. They still use a small amount of electricity to turn the drum and power the control panel, but this is less than 10% of the total electricity used by a standard electric dryer.

As well as being cheaper to run, LPG models can be more energy efficient too. Calor’s LPG dryers have an energy rating of A, whereas regular electric dryers most commonly have an energy rating of C. This means they can be more than 40% more efficient than electric dryers.

Teresa Wafer, appliance manager at Calor, said: “Installers should arm themselves with these statistics about the cost and energy saving benefits of LPG tumble dryers, and inform their off-grid customers about these benefits in order to gain new LPG installation work.”

Gas tumble dryers also help reduce build-up of static in fabrics, which can damage clothes and a reverse tumble action means that items are less likely to become tangled and creased. Calor’s LPG dryers can be fuelled by Calor gas from bottles, or from a larger storage tank if LPG is already used for home heating.