How much does it truly cost?

I know dryers are supposed to cost a lot to run. So, I wanted to specifically calculate out the cost to run my dryer in my area.

I found this great site to help me with my calculations. It wasn’t hard. But I love math!

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/clothingcare/qt/How-Much-Does-It-Cost-To-Run-A-Dryer.htm

Here’s the formula to help you out…

(dryer’s wattage x length of load in hours)/1000 = kilowatt hours (kwh) used

kilowatt hours x cost per kwh = cost per load

cost per load x # of loads per month = cost per month

cost per month x 12 = cost per year

Real cost per kWh:
I took my total bill and divided by the total kWh I used. This way I get the whole picture, base charge and taxes included.

$70.13/518 kWh= $0.1354 / kWH

Plug it in:
Plug and chug…plug the numbers into the formula and prepare for your jaw to drop.
(5600 watts x 1 hr.) / 1000 = 5.6 kWH used
5.6kWh x $0.1354 = $0.758 per load

MEANING….
It costs me about 76 cents to run the dryer for an hour per load. OUCH!

Or… $30.32 per month. (I usually run about 8 loads a week.)

Or… $363.84 per year. (And that is being conservative.)

Sometimes I run 10 loads per week if I have a lot going on. That’s $37.9 per month or $454.80 per year.

That’s a nice chuck of change! Think I’ll let Mother Nature dry my clothes instead!! And just in case, I put a note on my dryer of the true cost to discourage me from using it unless it’s necessary.