Electric Dryer Electricity Cost Calculator
An electric clothes dryer is one of the highest-wattage appliances in the home, drawing around 3,000 watts while running. It doesn't run all day, but each load takes 45 minutes to an hour at nearly full power, so the cost is really about how many loads you do. This calculator shows the cost per load and per month at your electricity rate, so you can see what your laundry habits actually add up to.
watts × hours × duty ÷ 1000
at your state rate
this appliance
Results update live as you type. For planning and field-check estimates — always verify against applicable standards and equipment ratings.
How we calculate this →The full cost of drying laundry
A standard electric dryer rated 3,000–5,000 W runs the heating element continuously during the drying cycle — typically 45–60 minutes per load. At 5,000 W for one hour, that's 5 kWh per load, or about 85 cents at average U.S. rates. A household doing 5 loads per week spends roughly $220/year on dryer electricity alone.
Heat pump dryers cut this cost by 30–50% by recycling heat rather than venting it. They take longer per cycle (70–90 minutes) but use 1,500–2,000 W versus 4,000–5,000 W for conventional models. At current appliance prices and the 30% federal tax credit for qualified heat pump dryers, payback periods are typically 5–8 years — shorter in high-rate states.
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