Combo washer/heat pump dryers help you save space and energy!

Jun 15, 2025

Have you been thinking about upgrading your laundry setup? What if you could get the space-saving benefits of a laundry tower or an all-in-one with the energy-efficiency of an efficient electric heat pump?

Let’s start with the basics: a washer/heat pump dryer is a single machine that washes your clothes and dries them using ultra-efficient heat pump technology. Here is one model currently on the market, from GE.

How a heat pump dryer works: Gas and electric condenser dryers create hot air to pick up moisture from your clothes, and require a vent to the outside to release that super moist air. A heat pump dryer is different: it works like an air conditioner in reverse to dry your clothing. A heat pump dryer uses refrigerant to capture heat from the surrounding room’s air and uses this recycled heat to dry clothes. The moisture from your wet clothes gets condensed into water and drained.

Bottom line: a heat pump dryer uses electricity and does not need a vent (only an electrical outlet) to work—but heat pump dryers use 40-50% less energy than gas and electric condenser dryers.

Upgrading to a washer/heat pump dryer combo will help you use less energy and modernize your laundry routine. Here are two things to know before installing your new all-in-one:

  • Set it and forget it. Drying your clothes will take a bit longer because the max temperature of your dryer is lower than before. But you won’t need to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, which gives you a new kind of freedom. Instead of spending a Saturday doing laundry, start a wash before you head to work, or before bed, and return to find clean dry laundry waiting for you.

  • Placement impacts performance. Since your washer/heat pump dryer uses the air around it to dry your clothing, if your laundry area isn’t climate-controlled (like a garage without heating), the dryer may struggle to operate efficiently or take longer to dry clothes. Heat pump dryers perform best at room temperature. Heat pump dryer combos will need a few inches of space clearance, but this won’t prevent you from placing it in a laundry closet.

And now a big shout out for hang drying!

By far the most energy efficient way to dry your clothes is to hang them up to dry in the sun. By doing a little planning you can easily incorporate the practice into your daily routine (pro tip: wash in the morning, so they can dry during the day). Do your laundry in step with the weather (hello, summer!), get a laundry rack for inside and outside use, or install a clothesline. Your clothes will thank you, and they’ll smell like sunshine!