How much does it cost to run a tumble dryer?
Work out what any appliance costs to run per use, per month and per year on your own electricity rate — including what it draws on standby.
Using the Irish average of 40.42c/kWh — Eurostat, the second half of 2025.
Vented dryers use roughly 4–5 kWh a cycle; heat pump models use closer to 1.5–2 kWh, which is where the running-cost gap shows up.
Common cases
What drives the cost
Nearly all of a tumble dryer's electricity goes into evaporating water, which is why the biggest saving happens before the dryer is switched on. A faster spin in the washing machine removes more water mechanically, and mechanical removal is enormously cheaper than thermal removal — moving from a 1,000 rpm to a 1,400 rpm spin typically cuts drying time, and cost, by something like a fifth.
The other variable is the type of machine. Vented and condenser dryers heat air, use it once and throw the heat away. Heat pump dryers recycle it, which is why they draw roughly a third of the energy for the same load, and why they take noticeably longer to do it. Across a few hundred loads a year that gap is usually wider than the price difference between the two machines.
How this is worked out
Electricity is billed per kilowatt hour. An appliance's kilowatt hours are its power in kilowatts multiplied by the hours it runs — so a 2,000 W appliance running for 30 minutes uses 1 kWh. Multiply that by your unit rate and you have the cost. The standing charge is not included here because you pay it whether or not you switch anything on.
What this assumes
- The appliance draws its rated power for the whole time it is on. Anything thermostatically controlled — ovens, heaters, fridges — cycles on and off, so the real figure is lower.
- Your unit rate stays flat all day. On a time-of-use tariff the same appliance costs materially different amounts depending on when you run it.
- A year is 52 weeks of identical use, which overstates seasonal appliances and understates ones you use in bursts.
- The rate filled in for you is an average that spreads fixed charges across a year's usage, so it sits above what one extra unit really costs. Entering the unit rate from your own bill gives a closer answer.
Questions
Is it worth drying clothes on a rack instead?
It costs nothing directly, but indoors in winter the comparison is less clear than it looks. Water evaporating from clothes has to be heated by something, and that something is your heating. Drying indoors also raises humidity, which is the main ingredient in condensation and mould.
Do two small loads cost more than one full one?
Usually, yes. A large share of each cycle goes into heating the drum and the airflow rather than the clothes, and that overhead is paid once per cycle. A full but not tightly packed drum is the efficient point.
Does this include the standing charge?
No, and deliberately. The standing charge is a fixed daily fee for being connected at all, so it does not change when you run an appliance more or less. Including it would make every appliance look more expensive than it is.
Where do I find the wattage?
On the rating plate — usually a sticker on the back, base or inside the door — or in the manual. It is written as W or kW. If it only quotes amps, multiply amps by 230 to get watts.
Why is my bill higher than the total this gives?
Because this prices one appliance. Heating, hot water and the constant background draw of everything left plugged in usually make up more of a bill than the appliances people think to check.
Sources
- Ofgem — price cap unit rates — checked 2026-08-21
- Energy Saving Trust — quick tips to save energy — checked 2026-08-21
Rates from Eurostat for the second half of 2025. Last reviewed 3 September 2026.