Energy Friendly Clothes Iron (off Grid Use)!
Intro: Energy Friendly Clothes Iron (off Grid Use)!
My clothes iron pulls 1200watts and is frankly a power hog. I always wanted to run the iron from my off grid home power but that power level is too much! I been forced to use utility power to iron my clothes, how sad!
Read on for how I tamed this massive power hog and made my clothes iron environmentally friendly and green power compatible! Please note that this project will work on any clothes iron and does not involve modifying the clothes iron in any way!
STEP 1: The Dimmer.
STEP 2: Wiring Up!
STEP 3: Measurement.
STEP 4: Initial Testing.
Since the heater uses far less than its nameplate rating, the thermal switch does not turn off the iron. This scenario is continous heat rather than on off duty cycles. Think of it as the advantages of an inverter air conditioner Vs the standard design air conditioner which wastes lots of power.
STEP 5: Thermographic Inspection.
STEP 6: A Real World Test!
People, why are we burning precious power when a clothes iron can use a fraction of its power rating to get the job done?
Lower power usage means the clothes iron lasts longer and the ironing experience is more pleasant for those of us in hot climates.
Stay tuned as I create a controller to automatically turn off my energy efficient clothes iron. I never liked the thought of accidentally leaving the iron plugged in.
I hope you my readers found this instructable helpful. I'm still doing victory dances as I write this last line. Lol. Oh yeah!
3 Comments
3366carlos 7 years ago
good idea, I like to have my iron as hot as possible, it works better on my clothes,
rafununu 7 years ago
A normal clothes iron only eats power during preheat, once the temperature is reached it stops consuming. If you limit its power, it will consume for a longer time but the global energy will be the same. My iron is electronically controled, if I send pwm to its entrance, its electronics will burn.
Mjtrinihobby 7 years ago