About UVdry - Our Mission
The Problem: The Typical US Clothes Dryer
Our story begins with a problem. That problem is the standard US clothes dryer - a model of inefficiency, a symbol of lack of innovative progress, a multi-billion dollar drain on our pocketbook, and a killer of the environment.
Impact on Household Spending
After the refrigerator, no other household appliance consumes more energy than the clothes dryer. According to one source, clothes dryers can consume nearly 2800 watts of energy per hour.
Impact on Power Companies
The clothes dryer is such an energy hog that power companies like Georgia Power Company, which must provide infrastructure to meet peak power demands, encourage homeowners to use clothes dryers at different times than other household appliances.
Impact on the Environment
And of course, there is also the toll on the environment. In addition to consuming natural resources such as coal, a household running a dryer 200 times a year creates nearly half a ton of CO2 emissions annually. According to USA Today, U.S. consumers are wasting $4 billion annually to power clothes dryers that have barely improved their energy efficiency since the 1970s. That's more than 40 years of stagnation and lack of progress.
UVdry's Solution
Now, enter UVdry. Located in Atlanta, Georgia and organized in 2011 by two Georgia Tech alumni, UVdry has developed patented technology (so far 4 issued U.S. Patents) that is targeted to dry clothes faster and/or use less energy than standard clothes dryers on the market. Instead of using inefficient, traditional heating elements to dry clothes, our dryer technology uses ultraviolet lights strategically positioned inside the dryer to dry clothes. Our first, rudimentary prototype has been tested by a national laboratory and the preliminary results showed a decrease in energy usage by about 20%. We have been able to dry a laundry load in a little over a half an hour (between a half and hour and 35 minutes). We are confident that eventual commercial models can achieve 50% - 80% energy reduction. We are actively seeking business partners to help bring this technology to the market, and are firm believers that our technology:
Our story begins with a problem. That problem is the standard US clothes dryer - a model of inefficiency, a symbol of lack of innovative progress, a multi-billion dollar drain on our pocketbook, and a killer of the environment.
Impact on Household Spending
After the refrigerator, no other household appliance consumes more energy than the clothes dryer. According to one source, clothes dryers can consume nearly 2800 watts of energy per hour.
Impact on Power Companies
The clothes dryer is such an energy hog that power companies like Georgia Power Company, which must provide infrastructure to meet peak power demands, encourage homeowners to use clothes dryers at different times than other household appliances.
Impact on the Environment
And of course, there is also the toll on the environment. In addition to consuming natural resources such as coal, a household running a dryer 200 times a year creates nearly half a ton of CO2 emissions annually. According to USA Today, U.S. consumers are wasting $4 billion annually to power clothes dryers that have barely improved their energy efficiency since the 1970s. That's more than 40 years of stagnation and lack of progress.
UVdry's Solution
Now, enter UVdry. Located in Atlanta, Georgia and organized in 2011 by two Georgia Tech alumni, UVdry has developed patented technology (so far 4 issued U.S. Patents) that is targeted to dry clothes faster and/or use less energy than standard clothes dryers on the market. Instead of using inefficient, traditional heating elements to dry clothes, our dryer technology uses ultraviolet lights strategically positioned inside the dryer to dry clothes. Our first, rudimentary prototype has been tested by a national laboratory and the preliminary results showed a decrease in energy usage by about 20%. We have been able to dry a laundry load in a little over a half an hour (between a half and hour and 35 minutes). We are confident that eventual commercial models can achieve 50% - 80% energy reduction. We are actively seeking business partners to help bring this technology to the market, and are firm believers that our technology:
- provides savings for the consumer;
- reduces electrical power delivery infrastructure costs;
- conserves our natural resources;
- sanitizes clothing and other items, whether in hospitals or during pandemics; and
- reduces our carbon footprint on the environment.