Market transformation for clothes dryers: lessons learned from the European experience

摘要

The European residential clothes dryer market is undergoing a transformation driven by highly efficient heat pump dryer technology. In 2012, over 80 residential heat pump dryer models from 18 different manufacturers were available on the European market1. Additionally, Switzerland implemented a new minimum energy performance standard (MEPS) that effectively allowed only heat pump dryers to be sold in that country. The Super Efficient Dryer Initiative (SEDI) was formed in the US to support improvements in dryer energy efficiency based on the European experience and to bring together utility energy efficiency programme providers, dryer manufactures, government agencies and other stakeholders to repeat the European success in the US and Canada. Heat pump dryers have substantial energy saving potential in North America. Recent testing indicates that European heat pump dryers are 50–60 % more energy efficient than existing North American conventional electric dryers2. In 2012, SEDI supported the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to offer an ENERGY STAR Emerging Technology Award (ETA) for efficient dryers. The ETA for Advanced Clothes Dryers is designed to support the introduction of efficient technology through recognition and promotion3. Several manufacturers are now ready to introduce a significantly more energy efficient clothes dryer into the North American market, and the announcement of an ETA recipient is expected soon. This paper describes the actions dryer stakeholders have taken on both sides of the Atlantic to promote efficiency and identifies lessons from the European market transformation experience that can be applied in North America.