Appliance running costs
How much electricity does a washing machine use?
A washing machine typically draws a few hundred watts while it runs — roughly 300–1,300 W depending on the stage and model — but the useful number is energy per wash. A modern machine on a mostly cold or warm wash commonly uses well under 1 kWh per load including electric water heating; hot washes use much more. This page uses 0.3 kWh per wash as an editable example.
How much electricity does a washing machine use?
Example: at 0.30 kWh per wash and 5 washes a week, a washing machine uses about 6.52 kWh per average month and 78.3 kWh per year. At $0.180/kWh that is $0.054 per wash, $1.17 per month and $14.09 per year. The 0.30 kWh is an example — enter your own below.
Include water heating if your water heater is electric.
$0.054
per wash
0.300 kWh per wash · 5.0 washes a week
Calculated from your inputs
- kWh per month
- 6.52 kWh
- Cost per month
- $1.17
- kWh per year
- 78.3 kWh
- Cost per year
- $14.09
Method
- cost per wash = kWh per wash × rate
- kWh per year = kWh per wash × washes per week × 52.18 weeks
- kWh per month = kWh per year ÷ 12
Assumptions
- 52.18 weeks per year = 365.24 days ÷ 7, the site's average-year convention.
- Energy per cycle is the whole-cycle figure, not watts × an assumed runtime.
- Label figures assume an electric water heater; with gas water heating, your electricity per cycle is lower.
What can change the result?
- Water temperature — hot and warm washes add water-heating energy
- Whether your water heater is electric or gas
- Machine type (front-load vs top-load) and load size
- Washes per week
Washing machine watts — and why they are not the whole answer
What the figures represent: Watts are the instantaneous draw (motor, pump, controls, any internal heater). kWh per wash is the energy over a whole cycle — that sets your cost.
A washing machine's draw changes through the cycle: low while filling and agitating, higher during the spin, and much higher for any machine that heats water internally. So a single wattage figure says little about energy. What matters is energy per wash — and the biggest part of that is usually heating the water, either in your water heater or inside the machine.
Use your machine's EnergyGuide label if you have it: its yearly kWh is based on 8 loads a week and assumes an electric water heater. Divide it out per load with the calculator's label mode. Cold washes use mostly motor and control energy; warm and hot washes add water-heating energy, which a gas water heater supplies as gas, not electricity.
| Type | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Running draw (motor, pump, controls) | about 300–1,300 W | Illustrative; peaks during spin |
| Cold wash, machine energy only | about 0.1–0.3 kWh per wash | Illustrative range |
| Warm wash with electric water heating | about 0.5–1.5 kWh per wash | Illustrative range |
| Hot wash with electric water heating | about 2–4 kWh per wash | Illustrative range |
Electricity use per wash, month and year
All rows use 5 washes a week at $0.180/kWh; only energy per wash changes.
| Energy per wash | Cost per wash | Per month | Per year | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold wash, machine only: 0.15 kWh | $0.027 | $0.59 | $7.04 | Illustrative |
| Mixed cold/warm (default example): 0.30 kWh | $0.054 | $1.17 | $14.09 | Site example |
| Warm wash, electric water heater: 1.00 kWh | $0.180 | $3.91 | $46.96 | Illustrative |
| Hot wash, electric water heater: 3.00 kWh | $0.540 | $11.74 | $140.88 | Illustrative |
| Label example: 120 kWh/yr at 8 loads/wk → 0.287 kWh | $0.052 | $1.13 | $13.50 | Site example of a label |
What changes how much electricity a washing machine uses
- Water temperature: heating water dominates warm and hot washes.
- Electric vs gas water heater.
- Front-load machines generally use less water, so less water-heating energy.
- Washes per week.
Where these numbers come from
- The FTC EnergyGuide label for clothes washers shows estimated yearly electricity use based on 8 loads a week, with an electric water heater.
- DOE's test procedure combines machine energy, water-heating energy and drying energy under fixed temperature-use assumptions; those totals are not the same as a single cold wash.
- The 0.3 kWh/wash default and the bands above are SnapEnergyLab examples, not measured averages.
| Value | What it measures | Kind | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 loads per week | Usage basis printed on clothes washer EnergyGuide labels; kWh/yr assumes an electric water heater | Label assumption | FTC Energy Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 305) | 2026-10-03 |
| Machine + water-heating + drying energy per cycle | What DOE's integrated test metric covers (not comparable with a single cold-wash figure) | Test-procedure assumption | DOE test procedures for residential clothes washers (10 CFR 430 Subpart B, Appendices J/J2) | 2026-10-03 |
| 0.3 kWh per wash; 5 washes per week; 500 W running | Calculator defaults | Site example | SnapEnergyLab | 2026-10-03 |
Worth knowing
EnergyGuide yearly kWh assumes an electric water heater; with a gas water heater your electricity use is lower but you pay for gas instead.
Worth knowing
A clothes dryer is a separate and usually much larger load per load of laundry.
Your next decision
- Clothes dryerWhat a clothes dryer costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- DishwasherHow many watts a dishwasher uses, and its kWh and running cost.
- Appliance wattage calculatorA configurable appliance list: what this combination draws, and what it costs.
- Rank this appliance against everything else in the homeOne live ranking of every appliance here, same rate.
Other appliances
- What uses the most electricityA ranking that re-sorts when you change the assumptions behind it.
- Space heaterWhat a space heater costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- Air conditionerWhat an air conditioner costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- RefrigeratorWhat a refrigerator costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- FreezerWhat a freezer costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- Hot tubWhat a hot tub costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- Pool pumpWhat a pool pump costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- DehumidifierWhat a dehumidifier costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- Gaming PCWhat a gaming pc costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- Electric ovenWhat an electric oven costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- Clothes dryerWhat a clothes dryer costs to run, using realistic behaviour rather than nameplate watts.
- TVHow many watts a TV uses, and its kWh and running cost.
- MicrowaveHow many watts a microwave uses, and its kWh and running cost.
- Ceiling fanHow many watts a ceiling fan uses, and its kWh and running cost.
- Mini fridgeHow many watts a mini fridge uses, and its kWh and running cost.
- DishwasherHow many watts a dishwasher uses, and its kWh and running cost.
Electricity cost tools
- Electricity cost calculatorkWh or watts 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 come from the published default registry and the formulas are documented in the methodology.