How much electricity does a washing machine use?
A washing machine uses **110 kWh a year**. That is the median of 401 certified models, and the middle half fall between 100 and 140. At the US average tariff that is about **$20 a year** — genuinely small. The interesting number is the one next to it.
Work it out with your own tariff
Your rate, cents per kWh
There is no hours setting here, unlike the other device pages. This appliance is not certified in watts at all — only as a yearly total, and that total already includes a defined pattern of use. Multiplying it by hours of your own would count the usage twice.
| Period | Cost | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| A year | $20 | 110 kWh — the measured figure |
| A month | $1.69 | a twelfth of the year |
| A day | $0.06 | a 365th of the year |
110 kWh × 18.44¢ = $20 a year. That averages 13 W drawn continuously.
110 kWh a year is the median of 401 certified clothes washers; the middle half fall between 100 and 140. Measured under the DOE federal test procedure, which assumes a defined number of loads a year. Watts are not published for this appliance at all. Rate defaults to 18.44¢ (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026-05) — a national average, which is wrong for you specifically, so put your own in above.
The dryer uses five times more
From the same certified data, medians:
| Appliance | Annual use | Models measured |
|---|---|---|
| Washing machine | 110 kWh | 401 |
| Tumble dryer | 608 kWh | 651 |
The dryer uses 5.5 times what the washer does. If you are trying to cut the cost of doing laundry, the washer is not where it is.
And neither figure includes heating the water
This is the caveat that changes the conclusion, so it belongs here rather than at the bottom. The 110 kWh is the machine's own electricity — motor, controls, pump. Where the hot water is heated by a separate gas or electric water heater, the energy to heat it is not in this figure and does not appear on the certified label at all.
That is why washing cold saves more than the 110 kWh figure suggests it could: the saving is mostly in water heating, which this measurement never counted.
What it costs you specifically
Set your own tariff below.
What this does not account for
Water heating is excluded, and it usually dominates. The measured figure covers the machine's own consumption. Heating the water is separate and, for warm and hot cycles, larger than everything on this page.
The yearly figure assumes a defined number of loads. The federal test procedure fixes how many cycles a year it counts. A single person washing weekly uses well under this; a household of five washing daily uses well over it. Because the assumption is inside the certified figure, it cannot be adjusted here without discarding the measurement.
Certified washers are a biased sample. Certification is voluntary and efficient models earn it. Note also that the certified distribution is tight partly because the specification sets a ceiling — the spread describes what passes certification, not the market.
Sources
- 01ENERGY STAR certified residential clothes washers — measured annual energy useU.S. Environmental Protection Agency ·
- 02Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 — average price of electricity to ultimate customersU.S. Energy Information Administration ·
How these figures are produced: see our methodology.
Figures are calculated from published wattages and a published tariff, both dated above. They are good for comparing devices, not for predicting your bill: your rate, settings and usage all differ.