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I hate ventless dryers - so no argument there. Used one in my Timeshare in Williamsburg and it wasn't really cold out either. FIrst, it was small and more importantly it took FOREVER to dry clothes. Luckily we had three rooms. Between the three of them we were almost able to keep up with the laundry. (And some stuff we ended up hanging up in the bathrooms) The building was historic and they had no way to vent the units.
Actually a heat pump dryer would be a good solution in an environment where outside vents are prohibited. The units condense the excess moisture as part of their energy recovery program so an outside vent isn't required.
The point I made, one you can't accept for who knows what reason is that many new homes with gas service also do not have anything other than 110 receptacles. There is no link, I buy and sell plenty of homes and know this as a fact. If you can't accept that, I really do not care.
It would be helpful to us to know whether this is due to codes or whether it is part of some voluntary green initiative. Where are these homes that are deliberately built without receptacles for an electric dryer?
New homes come without food in the refrigerator too. It doesn't stop anything.
If you want a 240 receptacle you either install one yourself or your local electrician installs one. It's trivial. As I previously asked, what town ordinance is proscribing 240 v? I doubt one exists. Code for this type of effort are always on the appliance. DOE sets efficiency standards for appliances, not voltage standards.
Because we consumers are constrained buy limited funds we make short sighted purchase decisions. Electric appliances are initially cheaper to buy but in many areas they are more expensive to operate. I know few buyers that do cost of ownership analysis vs purchase price. I know that if gas is available, a gas dryer is going to pay for the bigger upfront cost in a short time in operation. In the OP area in question, if I understand correctly, there is a strain on the grid due to population growth and electrical demand so to not encourage more high use appliances they put an alternate infrastructure for gas in place to make the upfront cost more competitive and convenient.Are gas dryers worth the extra cost?- MSN Money I know my kids having three little ones need all the savings they can because laundry is an everyday chore. Standards / building codes... if not for them rentals and spec houses would be of a lowest quality and even more inefficient.
It would be helpful to us to know whether this is due to codes or whether it is part of some voluntary green initiative. Where are these homes that are deliberately built without receptacles for an electric dryer?
I doubt it is either, more like cost. Watch a house being built and note the cost cutting that goes on at the contractor level, it is amazing. Lost of contractors are allowed to self certify or they can use their own structural engineer or architects to sign of on lots of things.
If you are buying a home with gas, why buy an electric dryer? Same goes for water heaters.
There are homes in Arizona, California and other places, it isn't some pattern, as I said, probably a cost cutting issue. There are roofers who skip nail to save on nails. Should the inspector catch it? So many never go up on the roof to look. No one ever knows until it comes time for the re-roof.
A house I just saw the other day with 208 inside. The house will have solar hot water, a gird tie solar for the main residence and an off-grid for the granny unit.
Is putting in 208 receptacles easy and inexpensive? Sure but nailing is easy to and nails are that expensive either considering the entire cost of the roof structure and other materials.
Then there are the apartments where many don't have 3 phase available in them even though the building itself might have it for elevators and so on. The reasons there are many including common area clothes washing rooms but even when those aren't available, many don't have 3 phase. Applies to condos too and that is something you might own yet it doesn't matter what you know, you aren't getting 208 anything in there.
New homes come without food in the refrigerator too. It doesn't stop anything.
If you want a 240 receptacle you either install one yourself or your local electrician installs one. It's trivial. As I previously asked, what town ordinance is proscribing 240 v? I doubt one exists. Code for this type of effort are always on the appliance. DOE sets efficiency standards for appliances, not voltage standards.
I think everyone gets it, you can put in a 240 receptacle. Great. That has nothing to do with houses being built without them.
Most, if not all, houses that get US Utility power have 208/240 in them. While I haven't checked them all, the ones that I have do not have 110/120V electrical meters measuring the power usage to the house. Those are pretty standard at 208/240 or 3 phase 480v.
I can prove that *all* houses don't have 240/208 in them, just find an off-grid house... It would be tough to prove that most do not though.
I do believe that that contractors cut costs where ever possible. That is why they are called CON tractors. If I am building a house I will specify what outlets I want and where I want them. To answer why would I want a 240v outlet in a house if it gets natural gas is simple. I want choices. What if natural gas goes up 10 fold, but electrical power doesn't? My Aunt/Uncle moved into a house with natural gas. The natural gas bill was $400 a month - they switched to electric appliances and their electric bill went up $100... Yes, the ONLY gas company was gouging them, but it was a way to say "bye bye". They had 240v and it was an easy switch. Maybe I want a gas and an electric dryer/water heater for the same reason. Some areas have seasonal gas and electric rates and I could capitalize on which is cheaper at the time.
Most, if not all, houses that get US Utility power have 208/240 in them.
Yes, most. Not all. The National Electrical Code is "suggested law" and while widely adopted, is not part of the local standard everywhere.
For those who haven't followed the details...
Quote:
If you’re not electrical, think of 2 (Dual / Split) phase power like a two pedal bicycle where both (two legs) provide work.
Dual Phase or Split Phase power is also Single Phase because it’s a two wire AC (Alternating Current) power circuit. In the US, this is the standard household power arrangement with two power (legs) conductors (120V, 120V) out of phase with one another and one neutral conductor. This arrangement provides (2) 120V single phase power circuits and / or (1) 240V dual phase power circuit.
Power flows (Alternating) between the power conductors (through the load).
120-240V 1 Phase Power Diagram
This arrangement is used in most US households because of its flexibility. Low power loads (lights, TV, etc.) are powered using either 120V single phase power circuit and high power loads (Water Heaters, AC Compressors) are powered using the 240V dual phase power circuit.
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Standards / building codes... if not for them rentals and spec houses would be of a lowest quality and even more inefficient.
