What the Kenmore 8120# costs to run
ENERGY STAR certifies the Kenmore 8120# at 317 kWh/yr, one of the cheaper models in its category to run for its category.
That $60 is priced at 18.8¢/kWh, the average of all 51 state rates this site tracks. Your own state's rate is one click away.
Efficient, or not, for a clothes dryer
Against the category average of 572 kWh/yr, this model uses 44.6% less, ranking 87 of 639 clothes dryers tracked here for running cost. That average is drawn from all 639 clothes dryers ENERGY STAR currently certifies, not an outside number, a $48/year gap from this model at the national rate. Full sourcing is in the sourcing notes.
Right next to it on the list
A rank or two either side of the Kenmore 8120#: GE GFT14JS*M*** ($60/yr, 317 kWh/yr), then Magic Chef MCSDRY24W1 ($60/yr, 317 kWh/yr).
Same brand, different models
Of the 13 ENERGY STAR certified clothes dryers Kenmore makes, the 8120# is the cheapest to run, $70/year less than Kenmore's priciest, the 7165*20*.
Cost over its typical lifespan
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical clothes dryer's service life at 12 years; run the Kenmore 8120# that long and it costs about $715 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Shopping for a new one
Efficient as certified clothes dryers go, $60/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
Worth comparing a few current certified models before deciding.
If you're keeping it
At $60/year just to run, a clothes dryer is worth protecting against an unplanned repair bill on top of that.
Where this number comes from
Nothing here is estimated from a nameplate wattage; the 317 kWh/yr is ENERGY STAR's own certified figure for this model. Ranked 87 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the Kenmore 8120# is also worth reading with a caveat specific to this category: the methodology page explains why ENERGY STAR's own combined-energy figure for dryers can overstate the electric bill impact of a gas model.