Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN Review
A solid mid-range tumble dryer
Verdict
It’s a touch fiddly to use as a result of an annoying programme selector dial, but get past this and the Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN has plenty of programme options, dries well, and offers decent annual running costs. With its 9kg drum, you can get a lot of washing through this machine, too.
Pros
- Low average running costs
- Large door
- Gentle drying
Cons
- No hanging dry option
- Fiddly programme dial
Availability
- UKRRP: £399
- USAunavailable
- Europeunavailable
- Canadaunavailable
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- CapacityThis tumble dryer can hold 9kg of washing, which is sufficient for most regular washing loads and bigger items such as duvets
Introduction
A solid mid-range tumble dryer, the Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN is designed to be energy efficient, with all of the drying programmes you need for a wide variety of clothing. It largely hits its targets, too, and is a very energy-efficient dryer. A slightly fiddly control panel makes this dryer slightly fiddly to use, but if you’re after a reliable and well-built machine, it fits the bill.
Design and Features
- Lots of programmes
- Fiddly programme dial
- Easy to load
With its white body and black strip of a control panel running across the top, the Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN looks smart. It’s a style that matches Sharp’s other washing appliances, so if you buy a washing machine from the company, your tumble dryer will neatly match.
This is tumble dryer can hold 9kg of washing. That’s a decent capacity, which will happily accommodate an average washing load. Those with more to dry may wish to consider a dryer with a larger drum.
Open the wide door and you’ll see a light inside the spacious drum. This makes it easy to find all of your washing at the end of the cycle, so you shouldn’t have any missing socks.
As with most tumble dryers, there are two filters here. The lint filter in the door simply pulls out and should be cleaned following every use.
The heat-exchanger filter is located under the flip-down plinth at the front of the tumble dryer. This one only needs to be cleaned when the warning light turns on, although Sharp recommends that you clean it at least once a month.
Water, by default, drains into the pull-out tank, located at the top of the tumble dryer where the detergent drawer would be located on a washing machine. It’s easy to pull out and empty, although a bit unwieldy when full, as is the case with other tumble dryers. If you prefer, you can hook up the drainage hose to a drain, so you don’t have to bother emptying the tank at all.
Control of the Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN is via the main programme dial. You turn it once to turn the machine on. As the dryer turns on, it lights up every programme option in turn in a clockwise direction. You need to wait for the lights to settle before selecting your desired drying programme.
Be careful, though: turning the dial past the Off position will turn the dryer off, meaning you’ll have to turn the dial again to turn the machine on, requiring you to wait through the startup lights again. I had a similar issue with the Sharp ES-NFH014CWC-EN washing machine. A simple on/off button would make Sharp’s appliances much easier to use.
Once it is on, however, there are plenty of programmes to choose from. You’ll most likely use the Cotton and Synthetics programmes, both of which have Cupboard Dry and Iron Dry options – but, strangely, there’s no hanging dry option.
There are, however, special programmes to refresh clothes (standard and wool), duvets and sports clothes. Since this is a heat-pump tumble dryer, drying speeds are quite slow (you’re looking at more than three hours per cycle), although there are also quick modes – Shirts 20′ and Jetdry 34′ – on offer that can handle smaller volumes of items faster.
For each drying cycle, the LCD panel displays the programme running time – although this will change as the sensor detects how dry your clothes actually are. You can set a delayed start time, adjust the drying level, and use the AntiCrease option, which will roll the drum occasionally at the end of a cycle to prevent clothes from settling and becoming creased before you can get to the machine to unload.
Performance
- Low running costs
- Can slightly under dry
- Average sound
To test the tumble dryer, I put it through my standard tests. First, I loaded it with washing fresh from a new cycle and put the Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN on the Cotton Cupboard Dry setting. Here, the machine used a total of 0.704kWh of power, which is a little higher than the majority of rival appliances.
At the end of the drying cycle, my clothes were 0.02kg heavier than their true dry weight: that’s 98.41% of water removal. Typically, dryers will extract more than 100% of the water weight, removing fibres as well as moisture. So, this result isn’t actually that bad: the clothes were dry enough to fold and put away, and there wasn’t much lint in the filter.
Since there’s no hanging dry option, I used the Iron Dry option, which used 0.308kWh of power, and resulted in drying of 84.88% in total. It’s a good result: the clothes were still a little damp to the touch, which is perfect for ironing.
This is an A++ dryer, which uses 259kWh per year, assuming 160 full drying loads. This works out to a cost per cycle of 25p, which is super-competitive. To work out a level playing field, I use an average total amount of tumble drying per year, based on 6kg loads and 160 cycles per year: 960kg of drying per year.
If used to its full capacity, the Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN would get through 106.67 loads to complete this amount of drying, resulting in an annual running cost of £27.20. That makes this machine a fraction cheaper than the excellent Indesit YT M11 82 X UK, which has an 8kg drum.
For noise, the Sharp measured 62.3dB, which is a little higher than much of the competition – although still quiet enough that it isn’t particularly distracting.
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Should you buy it?
If you’re after a well-priced tumble dryer with low average running costs, then this is a good choice.
If you’d rather have smart features or a device that’s easier to control, you may prefer to look elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
Fiddly control panel aside, the Sharp KD-NHH9S7GW2-EN is a reliable and feature-packed tumble dryer. Its running costs were a touch higher on my test loads than rival appliances, but annual running costs based on full loads are competitive. At this price, the competition is tough.
If you want to dry more clothes and want a smart dryer, the similarly priced Hoover H-DRY 500 ND H10A2TCBER-80 offers a 10kg capacity. Those who use a tumble dryer less frequently may find the slightly cheaper and easier-to-use Indesit YT M11 82 X UK a better choice. More options are available in my guide to the best tumble dryers.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every tumble dryer we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
We test compatibility with the main smart systems (HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, IFTTT and more) to see how easy each machine is to remote control. Smart tumble dryers only
We test with the same sets of clothes for each machine, run through a cycle on our test washing machine, so we can compare energy costs and drying performance between tumble dryers
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FAQs
This tumble dryer has a 9kg (wet) capacity, which is more than enough for your average load of washing.
No, it can be controlled via the front panel only.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.