Appliance running costs
Cost to run a clothes dryer
How much does a 3,000 W clothes dryer cost to run?
A 3,000 W clothes dryer switched on 1 hours per day at 85% duty cycle uses 2.60 kWh of electricity per day. At $0.180/kWh that is $0.47 per day, about $14.22 per average month and $170.67 per year — 948 kWh over the year. Those figures assume a typical wattage and a typical usage pattern; change any input below to match your own appliance and tariff.
Your inputs
Typical example — replace this 3,000 W default with your appliance’s actual rating for a better estimate.
A thermostat cuts this appliance out once at temperature — typical range around 85%.
Applies only to the 23 h a day the appliance is switched off, not to the idle part of the duty cycle.
Use the total variable rate from your bill, including delivery charges per kWh.
$14.22
per month (30.44-day average month)
2.60 kWh per day at 3,000 W
- Per day
- $0.47
- kWh / month
- 79
- kWh / year
- 948
- Per year
- $170.67
Average power across 24 hours
108 W
Daily energy spread evenly over 24 hours. Includes standby draw during switched-off hours when entered.
Cost per running hour
$0.459
While the appliance is actually drawing power.
Effective duty cycle
85%
Share of switched-on time at rated power.
Method
- 3,000 W = 3 kW
- 3 kW × 1 h/day × 85% duty = 2.55 kWh/day active
- 2 W standby × 23 h/day off = 0.046 kWh/day standby
- 2.55 + 0.046 = 2.596 kWh/day total
- 2.596 kWh × 0.18 USD/kWh = 0.467 USD/day
- 0.467 × 30.436875 days = 14.223 USD/month
- 2.596 kWh × 365.2425 days = 948.17 kWh/year
- 948.17 kWh × 0.18 USD/kWh = 170.671 USD/year
Monthly figures use a 30.44-day average month, 365.24-day average year.
Assumptions
- Electricity rate of 0.18 USD/kWh (editable).
- Calculations use a year of 365.2425 days and an average month of 365.2425 ÷ 12 = 30.436875 days, so twelve average months equal one year exactly. Displayed values are rounded to 365.24 and 30.44 days, and the rounded figures do not multiply out exactly.
- Duty cycle of 85% — the appliance draws rated power for that share of the time it is switched on.
- 2 W standby draw for the 23 hours a day the appliance is switched off. Standby applies only outside the switched-on hours, not to the idle part of the duty cycle, and is included in every kWh and cost figure below.
- Rated power is treated as real power in watts, not volt-amps.
What can change the result?
- Dryer type: vented electric, condenser, or heat pump
- Load size, fabric type and spin speed of the preceding wash
- Vent restriction and lint filter condition
- Number of loads per week
$14.22/mo · 79 kWh/mo
How a clothes dryer actually draws power
A vented electric dryer runs its heating element close to continuously through most of a cycle, cycling out only near the end as the load dries and the thermostat intervenes. That makes it one of the highest-consumption appliances in a home per hour of use. Heat pump dryers are fundamentally different machines: they draw roughly a third of the power but run considerably longer cycles.
Enter hours per day as your average across the week — three 45-minute loads a week is roughly 0.32 hours per day. If you have a heat pump or condenser dryer, drop the wattage to 600–900 W and raise the cycle time; the resulting cost is usually less than half that of a vented electric machine.
Cost at different usage patterns
All rows use 3,000 W at 85% duty and $0.180/kWh. Only the hours change.
| Hours per day | kWh per day | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h/day | 2.60 kWh | $0.47 | $14.22 | $170.67 |
| 2 h/day | 5.14 kWh | $0.93 | $28.18 | $338.19 |
Cost across the typical wattage range
Units in this category typically range from 1,800 W to 5,500 W. All rows use 1 h/day at 85% duty.
| Power rating | kWh per day | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,800 W | 1.58 kWh | $0.28 | $8.63 | $103.61 |
| 3,000 W | 2.60 kWh | $0.47 | $14.22 | $170.67 |
| 5,500 W | 4.72 kWh | $0.85 | $25.86 | $310.38 |
Worth knowing
Worth knowing
Your next decision
- Electric ovenWhat an electric oven costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- Heat pump savingsSame heat delivered, two systems, two electricity bills.
- Electricity cost calculatorWatts and hours in, cost per day, month and year out.
- Why the rating plate overstates what this appliance usesDuty cycle and part-load operation, which set the figures above.
- What the standby watts add over a yearThe off-hours component of this appliance's annual total.
Your next decision
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Electricity cost tools
- Electricity cost calculatorWatts and hours in, cost per day, month and year out.
- Cost per kWh explainedThree different costs per kWh on one bill, and which one belongs in a calculator.
- Appliance wattage calculatorA configurable appliance list: what this combination draws, and what it costs.
- Watts to run a houseRunning, average and startup watts — separated, not averaged into one range.
Defaults on this page come from the published default registry and the formulas are documented in the methodology.