54 THE QUEENS COURIER • AT HOME • SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Why your clothes dryer is an energy hog and what you can do about it
Th ere’s nothing quite as comforting as
pulling on your favorite hoodie when
it’s fresh from the dryer. As much as you
love luxuriating in that warmth and soft -
ness, you may not be aware just how
much energy this beloved appliance burns
through in a year. When it comes to energy
savings in the laundry room, the dryer
has long been an obstacle, and here’s why.
• Unlike washing machines, refrigerators
and other common household appliances,
energy-effi cient dryer models have
been absent from the market. It wasn’t
until 2014 when the fi rst ENERGY
STAR® Certifi ed dryers became available.
Products that earn the EPA’s
ENERGY STAR label are independently
certifi ed to save energy.
• Before then, dryer technology had
stayed pretty much the same for decades.
A standard dryer blows heated air into
the drum chamber, removing moisture
from the clothing. Th en the hot, moist
air is vented out of the machine (and out
of the house). Because of that constant
loss of heat, the machine works continuously
to resupply the drum with hot air.
• According to the EPA, the standard
clothes dryer uses more energy than any
appliance in a typical household, including
the clothes washer and dishwasher.
It uses even more than the refrigerator.
Now that energy-effi cient dryers are
available, here’s a look at the core technology
found in ENERGY STAR certifi
ed dryers.
• Moisture sensors detect when your
clothes are dry, triggering the machine
to end the cycle, saving energy and
excess wear on your clothing.
• Heat pump technology eliminates the
need for venting and continuous heating.
First, the air is heated through a
condenser, and then it’s blown into the
drum and the hot dry air is circulated
with the clothes absorbing some of
the water. Instead of venting the warm,
moist air outside like a conventional
dryer, it is pulled out of the drum and
through an evaporator, which removes
the moisture. Th e remaining warm, dry
air is returned to the condenser and the
cycle begins all over again. Because the
air feeding into the condenser is already
warm, less energy is needed to maintain
the optimal temperature in the drum for
drying clothes.
To save energy in the laundry room,
there are plenty of choices to meet your
unique needs and space requirements.
• Th e energy savings from switching to an
ENERGY STAR certifi ed clothes dryer
can reach 20%. For additional savings,
look for certifi ed ENERGY STAR Most
Effi cient models to save at least 28%
compared to standard models. To maximize
savings, pair it with an ENERGY
STAR Most Effi cient washer.
• Some models require no ventilation,
meaning you can put your laundry
room wherever there’s access to power
and water. Whether you live in a compact
space or are just looking to relocate
your laundry room to a more convenient
place, energy-effi cient models
off er more fl exibility.
• ENERGY STAR certifi ed dryers come in
a variety of models to meet your needs.
If space is tight, compact options are
available that are stackable with a washer.
Th ose who are doing laundry for a
big family can fi nd high-capacity models
as well.
Th ere are even more benefi ts of owning
one of these super-effi cient dryers. With
ENERGY STAR, you are also doing your
part for the environment. If all clothes
dryers sold in the U.S. were ENERGY
STAR certifi ed, households would save
more than $1.5 billion each year and 22
billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas
emissions would be prevented, equivalent
to the emissions from more than 2 million
vehicles. Even better, many utilities off er
generous rebates, so you can save even
more money.
Learn how you can still enjoy that
warm, fresh-out-of-the-dryer hoodie
while you save energy and money, and
do your part to protect the climate.
Find available products and rebates
near you by visiting energystar.gov/
hpdryer.
Courtesy BPT
5 ways to elevate your home decor through minimalism
Th e latest trends in home decor reveal
a desire for a feeling of tranquility and
calmness, perhaps as a response to today’s
overly busy and distracted lifestyles.
From Marie Kondo’s decluttering craze
to a return to natural materials in home
design, everyone is looking for a way to
create a peaceful, less hectic inner space.
When it comes to home decor, less is defi -
nitely more.
How can you tap into this yen for a little
more Zen?
1. Simplify your design strategy
When revamping your room to create
a more minimalist eff ect, choose a limited
color palette, meaning one to three
colors at most. Select mostly more muted
or neutral colors, though you can use one
vivid color in a piece of furniture or art to
grab the spotlight.
Let the textures of the materials that you
use for the fl oors, walls, ceilings and furnishings
- whether they are natural wood,
stone, ceramics, glass, tile, fabrics or canvas
- create the room’s visual interest
instead of yesterday’s too-busy colors and
patterns. Choose a couple of contrasting
textures, like glass and reclaimed lumber,
or woven fabric and stone, to highlight in
the room for the best eff ect.
2. Declutter your spaces
Decide what items you really want and
need to be in each room and get rid of the
rest - or fi nd a way to store it neatly, preferably
out of sight. One of the greatest
visual clutter culprits today comes from
technology. It’s hard to know what to do
with the mass and tangle of cords from all
the latest gadgets, power strips and chargers
everyone uses in their homes.
To streamline the technology you use
for viewing TV, movies and more, a product
from LG Electronics USA can solve
your cord clutter problem and turn your
living room into an amazing home viewing
theater. Th e LG CineBeam AI Th inQ
4K Laser Projector (HU85LA) creates
an impressive 90- to 120-inch cinematic
screen by placing it just 2.2 to 7.2 inches
away from the wall, needing no complicated
installation. With its streamlined
and compact design, the state-of-the-art
projector incorporates LG’s Th inQ AI and
has the Google Assistant built-in so you
can control your compatible smart home
devices with just your voice.
3. Choose furnishings
with clean lines
When you’re selecting new furniture
for your minimalist rooms,
look for high-quality, standout pieces
designed with clean lines, with no
fussy design details or busy patterns.
Don’t acquire more furniture than the
room really needs. Chances are you
can do without all those end tables
and extra chairs.
Make one exceptional, stylish piece
of furniture be the focal point for
each room, and don’t over-furnish or
over-decorate the space around it. Th en
avoid the urge to smother the couch
or sectional with tons of blankets and
throw pillows. Let the furniture speak
for itself.
4. Streamline artistic expression
Instead of fi lling every wall with pictures,
choose just one accent wall, eliminating
excessive decor elements around it.
Let one work of art dominate that space,
reducing any competition for attention.
Th e LG CineBeam Laser Projector can
display a chosen photograph or work of
art on your accent wall. With 8.3 million
pixels, it delivers impeccable precision
and detail at four times the resolution
of full HD, along with incredibly vibrant
color reproduction. It works without the
need to darken the room around it, using
gentle light that produces clear images
without any harsh brightness.
5. Leave plenty of open space
Resist the urge to fi ll every corner and
surface of the room with ornaments and
knickknacks. It’s the open space, unencumbered
by any visual clutter, that creates
the feeling of calm and tranquility
you’re craving.
And if you’re lucky enough to have a
great view out the window, install only
simple, streamlined window treatments -
or no window treatments at all - to highlight
that view.
Minimalist decor is all about making
careful choices and choosing the best
quality furnishings and decor over quantity
of items. You can turn any room into a
beautiful showcase that you’d be happy to
entertain and live in, with some thoughtful
decision-making. To learn more about
improving your home technology, visit
LG.com.
Courtesy BPT
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