The Dryer Vent Dilimna

If you have been following this blog you will know that we bought this house in 2007 so last winter was our first winter in this home. All of our renovations for this home are reflective of the importance of saving energy. As with the other homes we have owned the first priority was sealing to make the house more energy efficient. In today's economy this is even more important in terms of energy savings but this is not the only reason. It is very important to do whatever we can to reduce our carbon footprint.

Our laundry room is in between the family room and furnace room on the lower level of the house. Last winter I noticed that our gas dryer was abnormally cold when not in use. Since our dryer was less than a year old and an energy efficient model I knew the problem had to be the dryer vent. The dryer vent is not exactly in a convenient location but once we remove the brush it will be fine. Upon investigation we found an old dryer vent cover that was very brittle with half of the cover missing and the flap barely working. This vent cover obviously needed to be replaced but we wanted to do an energy efficient replacement.

A quick online search showed us that there were energy efficient vent covers on the market. We opted for the Broan® EcoVent because of its design and the fact that it was Canadian made. Our winters are cold so we felt that a Canadian company understood the problem that normal vent covers tend to be drafty. At the same time while some are designed to keep rodents and larger insects out, smaller insects can still get in.

Pictured is the Broan® EcoVent as compared to a normal dryer vent cover (1, 2, 3). The first thing you will notice is the size. The EcoVent is larger because it is insulated and the plastic is heavier! That means there is a lowered conduction of cold air from the vent cover to the duct. The second thing you will notice is the ball (1, 3). The floating ball check valve creates an airtight seal with no back draft. When the dryer is turned on the exhausting air will cause the ball to float up, opening the vent so the air can exhaust outdoors. When the dryer is finished exhausting the ball will fall back into its resting position preventing air leakage. Unlike other vent covers the Broan® EcoVent is noiseless even in strong winds so you won't hear any flapping either. We also opted to change out the existing vent pipe for a thicker walled one (4) meant to go with the Broan® EcoVent but this was optional.

The first step for preparation was removing the remaining vent cover and the existing vent pipe. This was actually a bit more work than anticipated. We used a large flat head screw driver to bend the pipe on the outside and on the inside then tapped it out. We were left with a clean opening outside and inside.

After the old vent cover and vent pipe were removed we cleaned up the old caulk from the outside wall. Inside there was very little clean-up but you may find a bit more clean-up if you decide to do this project. There should be no caulk on the inside wall around the vent exit. The reason for this is practical both in terms of access and redecorating. Instead the vent cover should be properly caulked on the outside making it airtight.

Our installation was on an existing concrete wall just above grade. Now ideally with our snowfall this is not the best location however, this is in a very protected location that has very little snow accumulation. In locations where snowfall could be a problem the dryer vent should be located at least 3 feet above ground level. My husband drilled pilot holes in the concrete (5). The vent pipe was put into the vent cover, secured with self tapping screws and then sealed with caulk. Then a heavy bead of concrete caulk was placed around the inside perimeter of the vent cover (6). The vent cover was attached to the vent opening using concrete anchors (7).

The installation resulted in a clean and neat outside appearance. In our location it really wouldn't have mattered what the installation looked like but really if you are going to do it, do it right. Make it look neat and tidy even if you are the only one who will ever see it. On a scale of 1 to 10 this project would rate a 10 as far as easy installation for anyone with the proper tools. In respect to energy savings this project would rate a 9 or a 10 depending on the location.

Garden Gnome
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