2013 Innovation Prize for Miele solar dryer

Even before its official market launch, Miele's solar dryer has been awarded the 2013 Innovation Prize by the East Bavarian Technology Institute Otti in Bad Staffelstein. For drying, the dryer relies on hot water from the central heating system which is connected to a solar-thermal rooftop installation. The product which Miele first presented as a study at the IFA 2011 trade show in Berlin was developed jointly with Solvis.

'What convinced us is that this system, instead of using electricity, uses heat to create heat. The concept of using electricity only to run electrical components and heat for heating has been implemented consistently and in a most exemplary way', said Wolfgang Schöllkopf from the Bavarian Centre for Applied Energy Research ZAE in his in speech at the awards ceremony. And, furthermore, the utilisation of energy is more efficient thanks to energy recovery. Electrical energy is only needed to circulate the heating water and the process air and to rotate and regulate the drum. The solar dryer is A+++ rated for energy efficiency and is up to 80% more economical than a conventional tumble dryer.

The solar dryer is connected to the central heating storage tank via four lines. The first transports hot water to the dryer, where heat transfer to process air takes place in a heat exchanger. In the process, the water cools down and is then returned to the stratified storage tank via a second line. A third connection pipes cooler water from the storage tank into the dryer in order to cool down the warmer air. The moist air is then cooled down in a second heat exchanger to condense moisture. This is then piped back to the tank along a fourth line. Thanks to this closed circuit, temperature losses are negligible as for the most part the heat extracted for drying laundry is re-introduced to the storage tank in the condensation process.

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Company profile: Miele is the world leader in the field of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floorcare products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). The company, founded in 1899, has 8 production plants in Germany and one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. 2011/12 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 3.04 bn with sales outside Germany accounting for 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. The Miele company, now in the fourth generation of family ownership, employs a workforce of oven 16,700 with two-thirds in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.