How much money can an energy efficient dryer save you?
With the Australian Government warning that the cost of energy is likely to increase by over 50% between 2022 and 2024, cutting down on your energy use has never been more important, for the sake of both the environment and your energy bills.
One way of doing this is to use less energy by running more energy efficient appliances - especially as the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water estimates that home appliances can account for around 25% of household energy use.
In this article we will look at how to it is possible to both save energy and save money by choosing more energy efficient appliances, even when they cost more to buy.
Higher energy stars, lower running costs
A number of household appliances carry energy star ratings to indicate their energy efficiency. Appliances that need to display their energy star rating in Australia include washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, fridges, freezers, air conditioners (single phase, non-ducted), TVs and computer monitors.
The more energy stars an appliance has, the more energy efficient and cheap it is to run. Correspondingly, the more expensive it usually is to purchase - but that definitely doesn’t mean it will cost you more overall, as you’ll see.
It’s also worth noting that in addition to an energy rating label, washers and dishwashers need to display water star ratings to show their water efficiency. In these appliances, energy efficient models tend to also have higher water ratings.
To more clearly show the cost and energy savings that can be made by choosing a higher energy star rating, however, we’ll put water efficiency to one side for this article. Here, we’ll focus on a laundry appliance commonly found in homes across Australia that has been regarded in the past as having high energy usage: the clothes dryer.
Which clothes dryers are the most energy efficient?
If you have the space, time and right weather conditions, hanging your laundry up to air dry is the most energy efficient (and cheapest) drying option. When that’s not the case, a dryer can be a great alternative. In terms of energy efficiency, however, not all dryers are created equal.
Almost all vented dryers have a 2-star energy rating. By comparison, heat pump dryers have energy ratings of between 6 and 10 energy stars. It’s worth noting that the maximum number of energy stars varies between appliances: for example, the most energy efficient washing machines have 5-star energy ratings.
Another option when it comes to choosing a new dryer is a condenser dryer. These have the same level of energy consumption (2 energy stars) as most vented dryers, but generally at a higher price. There are far fewer condenser models available and they make up a small part of the market, so to allow for the most useful comparison, we’ll look at vented and heat pump dryers.
For the heat pump dryers, we will use 8-star models, because they fall in the middle of the heat pump dryer energy rating range, and also into a price range that fits more people’s budgets than the 9 or 10 energy star models.
How much does it cost to run a 2 energy star dryer?
For example, if you run an old 7kg vented clothes dryer with a 2-star energy rating twice a week, it will cost you around $165 a year in electricity use at 2022 prices (on average: prices vary by state and territory). With the forecast energy price rise, this would cost around $250 a year by 2024.
How much does it cost to run an 8 energy star dryer?
By comparison, if you run an 8kg heat pump clothes dryer with an 8-star energy rating twice a week, it will cost you around $70 a year. With the forecast energy price increases, this would cost around $105 a year by 2024.
That makes the 8-star model significantly cheaper to run, saving you around $150 a year on energy bills. This is based on quite modest usage of twice a week: if you have a big family or busy household that frequently needs to wash and dry uniforms and sports kits overnight, you might use the dryer more than that.
What if the appliance costs more to buy?
You will generally pay more for a higher energy star rated appliance, but with a big (and growing bigger) difference in running costs, a dryer that costs you $700 more could repay the extra money spent on it within a few years. After this ‘break even’ point, the energy savings should continue, potentially making the total cost of the higher energy rated appliance less than that of the lower rated appliance in the long term.
Let's look at how that breaks down.
Savings for 2-star versus 8-star appliances
The estimated life expectancy for mid-price vented dryers is around seven years (though they may last longer), so we’ll use this number to compare the total ‘lifetime’ costs of an average 2-star vented and 8-star heat pump dryer.
So, let’s look at how the costs might compare if you were to buy a new 2 energy star 7kg vented dryer for $650 (average cost of competitively priced models) that you use twice a week, versus a new 8 energy star 8kg heat pump dryer for $1,350.
7kg 2-star vented dryer
Purchase cost: $650 (avg)
7-year running cost: $1,580 ($165 x 2 years + $250 x 5 years)
TOTAL LIFETIME COST OVER 7 YEARS: $2,230
8kg 8-star heat pump dryer
Purchase cost: $1,350 (avg)
7-year running cost: $665 ($70 x 2 years + $105 x 5 years)
TOTAL LIFETIME COST OVER 7 YEARS: $2,015
Total savings of buying and running 8-star energy rated dryer over 7 years: $215
More savings to come
It may seem counterintuitive, but breaking down the numbers, it's clear to see how buying a higher end, more eco-friendly dryer can end up costing you less.
The savings of the 8-star model should also continue after the seven years because higher end appliances have longer life expectancies. This has the additional benefit that you are less likely to be faced with the cost of a new machine as early as you would be with a cheaper model.
These calculations are based on the predicted average cost of power, but if energy prices continue to rise, the savings from running a higher energy star appliance would increase.
These sums also use some average prices for the dryers: in both categories, 2-star and 8-star, higher and lower model prices are available. If you were to compare the lowest priced 8kg 8-star heat pump dryer (less than $1,000) with the highest priced 7kg 2-star vented dryer (over $800), the lifetime cost of buying and running the heat pump dryer would be around $700 less than for the vented model.
What dryer is best for me?
Appliances like fridges and freezers have fairly consistent energy usage because they are permanently running, and everyone uses them in much the same way. Before choosing a new appliance like a washer or dryer, however, you should think about how often you will use it, because this will affect potential energy costs in the long term and may influence your choice of dryer.
The calculations we used here are based on specific criteria that may differ from your own, i.e. running a dryer twice a week. If you use it more than that, you’ll save even more money on your energy bills by running a high energy rated machine.
We also used an average cost of power in Australia, but in some States and Territories it will be slightly cheaper or more expensive. When you look for new appliances like washers and dryers at Appliances Online, you’ll see an Energy Consumption Calculator in the specifications section of each product page. This allows you to adjust the cost of energy according to your State or Territory.
Start saving on your energy bills sooner, with Free, Next Day Delivery* on energy efficient dryers
Ready to make your laundry more eco friendly by upgrading to an energy efficient dryer? We deliver dryers, and the rest of our products, to 95% of Australia’s population for free with Appliances Online's legendary FREE delivery - and we can usually get it to you by the next day (Mon-Fri). Plus, we now offer paid Same Day Delivery in metro areas of NSW, QLD and VIC for those times when you just can’t wait - you just need to order before 12pm Mon-Fri.
You can check out the full range of clothes dryers here, or if you need some pointers on choosing the best type or size for you, read our Laundry Buying Guide.