Combining all of these factors, the average cost of a load of laundry is $1.27. At this cost, if you do one load per week, doing laundry costs $66.04 per year. If you do four loads per week, doing laundry costs $264.16 per year. If you average eight loads per week, doing laundry costs $528.32 per year.
Cost of Doing Laundry At Home Or a Laundromat
Doing laundry at home will cost you about $2 to $3 per load, mostly for the laundry detergent. At this price, you might do two loads a week, resulting in a monthly spend of $16 to $24.
So, how much does one wash cost in electricity? Well, if we look at a typical D-rated, 9 kg washing machine, this uses 0.76 kWh per cycle, which works out at 26p per wash cycle. However, an A-rated washing machine uses 0.49 kWh per wash cycle, so the cost decreases to just 16p per load of laundry.
Electric dryers span a wide range of wattages, from about 2,000 to 6,000 watts. That translates to about 2 to 6 kWh of electricity. Based on the national average rate of 12¢ per kWh, each hour of electric drying will cost somewhere between 24¢ and 72¢, depending on the model.
If you have a 2100W (2.1 kW) washing machine and you run it for an hour, it'll use 2.1kWh of electricity in that hour. If electricity costs 34p per unit, multiply 2.1kWh by 34p and you get a grand total of 71p.
Washing Machines: Aim to run your laundry overnight or early in the morning. Many off-peak hours fall in these times, making it ideal for washing clothes while you sleep.
Even with some of the more energy efficient models, the combined cost of doing laundry can add up to more than $115 a year for the electricity alone.
Heating and cooling are by far the greatest energy users in the home, making up around 40% of your electric bill. Other big users are washers, dryers, ovens, and stoves. Electronic devices like laptops and TVs are usually pretty cheap to run, but of course, it can all add up.
We've already established that overnight is the cheapest time to do your laundry. However, that's not the only factor to consider.
It costs an average of $20 a month or $240 a year to run a refrigerator. A refrigerator's actual energy use is typically much less than the stated wattage because they cycle on and off throughout the day. Generally, you can divide your refrigerator's wattage by 3 to estimate its energy usage.
While the amount of energy a shower will use varies on the individual appliance, an electric shower can use an average of 8.5kW of energy. With this in mind to work out the cost of using an electric shower you need to multiply how much energy it is using, so 8.5, by the cost of electricity, 0.34.
The majority of kettles have a 3kW element. An example 3kW kettle boils one cup of water (235ml) in approx 45 seconds. This means it uses 1p to boil a cup of water in a kettle.
Similarly, the cost of electricity to run a washing machine and dryer can vary depending on the cost of electricity in your area, but it can range anywhere from $0.25 to $0.75 per load. Another expense to consider when doing laundry at home is the cost of a washing machine and dryer cost.
To give you an idea of how much a typical load weighs, the following items all together weigh about 10 pounds: Seven pairs/sets of underwear. Seven pairs of socks. Five short-sleeve T-shirts.
It's usually best to wash your clothes early in the morning during the summer and late at night in the winter. You can also save money when doing laundry by lowering the temperature settings and using energy-efficient appliances.
How much does it cost to run a tumble dryer for an hour? According to Heatable, a 2500W tumble dryer costs about 85p to use for an hour. However, the tumble dryer cost per hour depends on the energy efficiency rating of your tumble dryer and the cost of energy at the time.
Electric dryers typically take longer than gas dryers to complete a cycle, with average drying times ranging from 30 to 45 minutes for a medium-sized load. However, if you have a high-capacity dryer, it can significantly the time to dry your clothes to as little as 15 to 30 minutes.
Unplugging appliances has the potential to save you money on expenses, and this practice can also increase the life of your belongings. The more items you have plugged in around the house, the more susceptible your devices are to damage through an unexpected power surge.
The cost of doing a load of laundry can vary based on where you do it, how much you're washing, and the type of machines you use. Laundromats generally charge between $4.75 to $9.75 for a load, including washing and drying, while doing laundry at home costs between $1.00 and $3.00 per load.