Small Green Project - Clothesline

This blog entry chronicles one of my most controversial green projects to date. Not only was there a bit of controversy at the homestead about the project, but there is a national debate over the use of this device. Of course I'm talking about the old-fashioned clothesline. The same thing your grandma hung her clothes on to dry. My wife and I enjoy modern conveniences, especially those that save time or effort, so the clothesline versus the traditional dryer was a bit of a sell at our house. And since this age-old method of clothes drying requires a bit more effort, I've volunteered to hang the clothes out anytime the weather cooperates. My wife was skeptical at first, but is now coming around. Not only does the clothesline save energy, it also prevents a lot of unnecessary heat from being generated in the house, so the house has been a little cooler since we've embraced grandma's gadget. (not to mention we need less air conditioning to make up for the added heat). The nationwide controversy has to do with the supposed unsightliness of clotheslines and their prohibition in neighborhood covenants nationwide. Never did I suspect we would need a national advocacy group for the use of the clothesline, but here we are. Anyway I've included links below to read more about the controversy but here is why its green. Warning there is math ahead...
Here's my estimation:
Our dryer is all electric and uses 28A at 240v
28 * 240 = 6720 VA (volt amps)
6720 VA * .67 = 4502.4 W (Actual Power) This is the power correction
4502.4 / 1000 = 4.5 kW
4.5 kW * 4 hrs = 18 kWh per week
(assuming 4 loads per week and 1 hour drying time)
18 kWh * 52 weeks = 936 kWh per year
936 kWh / 12 = 78 kWh per month
78 kWh / 956.6 = 8 % of average household electricity consumption by our dryer

By cutting the dryer loads in half by using the clothesline at least 2 out of the 4 loads per week we save:
39 kWh per month
468 kWh per year
Depending on your average price for power that equates to a few cases of beer (or a few bottles of your favorite wine!)

The average household does about 7 loads of laundry a week.
That equates to 31.5 kWh per week,
1638 kWh per year,
136.5 kWh per month.
That equates to 14.2 % of average US household electricity consumption.
(National Average based on 2005 DOE report 11480 kWh / 12 = 956.6 kWh per month)

That's a lot of power!
We've been fairly successful with the clothesline so far this year (when its not raining) and have reduced our electricity usage and got clean fresh smelling clothes to boot! On another note, if you go all-out with the clothesline you can hang clothes inside in the winter adding humidity to the air for a more comfortable house! The clothesline we got was from Lowe's and cost about $30. Retractable lines and traditional lines can be even less expensive.

Here are some links if you are thinking about a clothesline yourself:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recs2005/c&e/summary/pdf/tableus8.pdf - DOE PDF

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recs2005/c&e/detailed_tables2005c&e.html - More DOE information

http://www.laundrylist.org/index.php/faq/35-general-laundry-questions/101-kwh-year-dryer-average - average laundry usage

http://www.laundrylist.org/ - advocacy group, video clips at bottom