With times getting tougher and tougher with each passing year, a number of people strive to cut down on electricity bills. However, what many homeowners aren’t aware of is that certain appliances are to be blamed for the increased energy costs, and one of them, which drains your electricity, isn’t your TV or your refrigerator but the electric clothes dryer.
In fact, an electric dryer can burn through as much electricity in a few short minutes as other household appliances use over several hours. The reason for this is rather straightforward when you think about it: heat.
The US Department of Energy explains that electric dryers dry clothes by pumping out intense heat and holding it there until the moisture is gone. That process isn’t gentle on your power meter. Even short drying cycles need a steady stream of energy to keep temperatures high.
When an electric dryer is running, it’s pulling a lot of power, usually somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 watts, and most household appliances don’t come anywhere near that.
A fridge, a laptop, even a TV use relatively little electricity, which is why a short dryer cycle can end up costing as much as several hours of those smaller devices running in the background.
The tricky thing is how harmless dryer use feels. One load doesn’t seem worth worrying about, but those quick cycles stack up fast. The US Department of Energy also points out that dryers use more energy than most people realize, particularly when they’re constantly drying heavy things like jeans, towels, or blankets. In a busy household, that daily dryer habit can add to the electricity bill before anyone even thinks to question it.
Small habits can make that impact even worse. Energy Star points out that things like overloading the dryer, forgetting to clean the lint filter, using high heat, or relying on older machines all make the dryer run longer than it should. Poor venting doesn’t help either. On the contrary, it traps moisture inside, slows everything down, and quietly bumps energy use up minute by minute.
Electric dryers also cost more to run than gas ones. As the Natural Resources Defense Council notes, gas dryers use electricity only for movement and controls, while the heat comes from natural gas, which is usually cheaper. That difference becomes especially noticeable during colder months, when laundry tends to pile up.
The upside is that cutting dryer costs doesn’t require major changes. The Department of Energy says air-drying now and then can help cut energy use. Dryers tend to fly under the radar since they don’t run constantly, but when they’re on, they hit your power use hard. If your bill looks higher than expected, your dryer could be the quiet culprit.
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