it's a personal choice.

do you have easy access to gas? is the ventilation an issue?

That really depends. what are your priorities? Gas will be faster to dry and may be cheaper to run, but it requires a vent/gas connection/electricity/runs hotter.

Electric has three options:

- Electric resistance

- Condensor

- Heat Pump

Electric Resistance will require a 240v connection/vent/may run hotter/shorter cycles/energy hog/Cheapest 1st cost.

Condensor will require 240v connection/no vent/runs hotter/longest run time/less energy than resistance/usually only found in compact size. Have to empty condenstate tank or plumb into drain to dispose of condensate/middle of the pack first cost.

Heat Pump usually runs on 120V/Runs Cooler than all other options/Gentlest on clothes/No Vent/Have to empty condenstate tank or plumb to drain/most energy efficient/middle length cycles (longer than gas or electric resistance, shorter than condensor)/usually found in compact units/Most expensive first cost.

That is a very high level overview.

The indistry is moving towards all haat pumps for pure electric options. It is the most energy efficient and the technology is maturing. It will always be the more expensive option due to the amoint of components needed to build a unit.

Gas is only present to a large degree in North America due to it being inexpensive. The rest of the world relies on electricty and that utility is generally much more expensive than North America. That is driving the industry towards heat pump only.

Our family has been using heat pump dryers for five years now in Wisconsin (Miele). I have calculated that if the dryer lasts for its full rated life (10k hours) the savings in energy costs over electric resistance will complely pay for the entire cost of the dryer. If I was using gas it would take longer. I did not want a gas dryer due to the fire risk.

I can do either no other gas

When we built an upstairs laundry room in our previous house we used gas because it's cheaper to operate, and we already had gas for heating, but we also put in a dedicated electrical outlet in case the next owner wanted to use electric instead.

Wow so informative!

I've had both and can't tell the difference.

Go with gas. Fanatical government policies are causing electricity prices to skyrocket. A CR-recommended gas dryer is the LG DLGX5501W (Home Depot, Best Buy).

We‘ve always had a gas dryer. Past dryers were Kenmore and Whirlpool…both great but NOT the Whirlpool washer. Current washer and gas dryer are LG.

Big Government is looking to make all gas appliances a thing of the past in the not so distant future.

I've had a gas dryer for 30 years and have never had a problem. What fire risk, @luna? Don't you clean out the lint filters?????

@millworkman, Big Brother keeps trying but they're not getting anywhere with banning gas appliances.

I went to great lengths to accomodate a stackable washer into an alcove off my hallway. It was a lot of work to get ventilation, 110 and 220W in there with a gas line. I even had a stainless vent made for under an eve in a highly visible area! Right as I was about to buy the LG washtower the GE ULTRAFAST ventless electric all-in-one came out that washes and dries in under 2 hours. The reviews were so great that I capped everything and installed one. It has more capacity than a normal washer and the heat pump technology allows it to use just the 110 plug, the water and a drain. The machine uses 850w instead of the up to 5000w a normal dryer uses. My calculations show I pay about 25 cents a load. No excess heat, no laundromat smell, no humidity... its great. Look into it.

In the all in one washer / dryer do you have to take out half of cloths to fully dry? Also do you recall if yours stops between cycles in case you want to take out non dry items? This is great info - thank you! @ Paul F.

i've always had gas. so much cheaper to run.

I guess that's why our dumb governor wants to outlaw all gas appliances (and natural gas everything else) and do electric w/everything. Our current grids can't even handle our summers now! moronic.

if you can do gas, and can vent it, do it.

As for those 2 in 1 options, you better do your research. a lot of owners were complaining that it took a lot longer than 2 hrs. and if it's electric, that's a lot of juice you're using.

@Wren You do not need to take out half the clothes for things to dry. If you have a load of jeans there is a button that adds 20 minutes to the dry time and that is more than enough to fully dry them. You can wash a load and be informed on your phone when its done if want to remove things. I've had a huge Cal King comforter and shams take 3 hours to wash and dry but this was not having to intervene by opening and rearranging things several times like I used to have to do with my gas dryer. So even at 3 hours it's probably about 38 cents for the load. Don't let the scare tactics get to you. 850w is HALF the amount of electricity you use to run your blow dryer.

BTW, I have TWO of the GE UltraFast machines. I use one and the other is in my rental and I'm getting a 3rd for my second unit. LG just came out with one to compete but they made it less powerful (600w) by trying to make the machine less tall (the GE is 47" high) so the reviews are not good. I would stay away from that one. This is the technology of the future... like mini split HVAC. Save some money, skip gas and 220w. The status quo is strong... resist!

Always had gas until I moved to Florida. I like electric, no odors, no electric pilot lights, electric is not expensive here. Gas can be cheap in some areas of the country and very expensive in other areas.

IMO electric is the future with the new convection cooktops etc. It's just my opinion, but gas is a dirty fuel. Just check the bottom of your pots and pans if you doubt that. I would never go back.

“Our current grids can't even handle our summers now! moronic.”

Agree!

@BeverlyFLADeziner: "It's just my opinion, but gas is a dirty fuel"

If by "dirty fuel", you are referring to CO2 emissions, natural gas is the cleanest of all fossil fuels (see "Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients by Fuel").

Florida Power and Light is the largest electric utility in Florida. What is the primary source of electricity delivered by FP&L? Natural gas at 75%.

Babcock Ranch, a solar-powered town in southwest Florida survived 150 mph Hurricane Ian with minimal damage. Time to capture all the free energy hitting us on top of our heads every day... where possible.

It is impossible to tell the real cost of various forms of energy because utilitity companies in different states get different kinds of government handouts for gas and electric, depending on the state. None of them pass the savings on to rate payers and instead pass the cost savings on to the CEOs. It's Big Utilities, who buy and pay for commissioners and elected officials, that are the problem.

@kendrah: "None of them pass the savings on to rate payers and instead pass the cost savings on to the CEOs."

NextEra Energy which owns Florida Power & Light had 2022 revenue of $20.956 billion. President and CEO John Ketchum earned $16,939 million or less than 0.08% of revenue.

I’m using an LG washtower. Ventless and uses a heat pump. Somewhat longer drying times, but there is an option for a timed cycle. The longest cycle is the energy saving mode. Good luck!

I have only had agas dryer once and it was a very long time ago. I found over time it made my wahites a bit yellow. I do think the cost is always a factor and in my next house I will have a clotesline . I can't get one where I am now unless I go the umbrella look which I hate . I love my sheets dried outside then ironed but right now I have a new Samsung electric dryer and it seems to have enough different cycles to meet my needs .I will however never go induction for cooking and I have never seen any residue on the bottom of my post I have avery good vent -a-hood that does the job .

In my previous house I had the large Miele washer and dryer that are no longer sold in the US. I had bought them in 2010. The dryer was natural gas. When we moved in 2020 the Miele technician said it didn't make sense to move the dryer and try to do the conversion to propane at the new location. We were also going to be renting while building and the machines would have sat in storage for 16 months in a hot/humid climate. We left the W & D with the house when we sold. Have an electric dryer at the new house and it works fine too, so I wouldn't say that either is better than the other.

I had a gas dryer from 1996-2000 when I was living in Northern VA. It was a GE Profile and it was their TOL of the day. I remember that I was very satisfied with that GE dryer, but I could not really state that it was significantly more economical to run or that it dried more efficiently than the previous Kenmore dryer I had. Since all the appliances were gas in that house, the cost of running the dryer did not leave an impression. When I built my next house (also in NOVA) I switched to electric (though the gas line was there). Maybe now with dryers being so much more advanced, it might be easier to analyze true cost savings than it was 30 years ago.

I had gas in my last home and electric in this home. I have not found that one performs better than the other, both dry clothing just fine. Last home was in San Diego new home in Pennsylvania. Utility costs are basically half so even with having and electric stove and dryer and running the heat and air conditioning my bills are far less than they were in CA.