The process of switching to a more electric house, and therefore more renewable, is two parts: remove fossil fuel powered components and remove load. I wrote previously about using a home battery which has really made a big dent in the ability to switch loads towards electricity. I have recently done some more analysis on the humble clothesline.
The clothes dryer is electric, but electric heat is expensive unless it’s via a heat pump. Most of them use multiple kilowatt hours (kWhs) to dry a load of clothes. My midline model will chew up almost 5kWh to dry a robust load of laundry. The utility’s tiered rate plan means that of clothes could cost $1.55 during off-peak or $3.05 on-peak.
Northern California is typically sunny and dry from April to November, which makes for easy hang-drying of laundry. I recommend relatively simple free-standing hanging racks which are easy to shift around depending on the sunlight or wind. I also have a retractable clothes line which I have yet to install, since i cannot really find a good stretch across the garden.
Note: Technically you can hang-dry indoors during the winter. That’s not as fun, but I still recommend it!
The amount saved through the year is $125-$250 depending on the number of weekly loads! Removing the electric load reduces costs, because I also have a home battery there is more surplus electricity to sell back to the utility. The total value of hang-dried laundry is difficult to accurately quantify, but it’s free money, give it a try!