A device that says it can cut dryer energy use and reduce drying time has passed safety tests and will be available this year.

The DryerMiser, developed by Hydromatic Technologies Corporation, changes the way the air inside dryers gets heated up. By using heated fluid instead of a gas flame or electric heating elements, the DryerMiser halves how much energy a dryer needs and can dry loads in 41 percent less time that typical dryers.

The device has recently passed tests by product safety certification organization Underwriters Laboratory. Although the Underwriters Laboratory mark is not required for equipment put on the market, it shows consumers and companies that a product has met certain standards.

The DryerMiser will first be available as a $300 conversion kit that takes about an hour for a trained service provider to install, and the company says it is in talks with appliance makers to integrate it into new dryers.

Hydromatic Technologies also hopes its device will help put in place Energy Star standards for dryers. Although clothes washers can carry the Energy Star label, Energy Star does not label clothes dryers, it says, "because most dryers use similar amounts of energy, which means there is little difference in the energy use between models."