Running cost for the LG DLEX3850*
ENERGY STAR certifies the LG DLEX3850* at 607 kWh/yr, about average for its category to run for its category.
That $114 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.
How the LG DLEX3850* compares to other clothes dryers
The category average is 572 kWh/yr; this model runs 6.1% above it, ranking 159 of 639 clothes dryers tracked here for running cost. 639 certified clothes dryers, one average, about $7/year of daylight between it and this model; the full methodology has the rest.
Neighbouring models
Right next to the LG DLEX3850* on that list: LG DLEX3700* ($114/yr, 607 kWh/yr) runs slightly less, while LG DLEX3900* ($114/yr, 607 kWh/yr) runs slightly more.
Within the LG lineup
Ranked 48 of LG's 144 certified clothes dryers, this sits between the DLHC1455* ($25/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the WSGX201H*A ($129/yr, its priciest).
LG DLEX3850* over 12 years
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical clothes dryer's service life at 12 years; run the LG DLEX3850* that long and it costs about $1,369 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Is it worth replacing?
Efficient as certified clothes dryers go, $114/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
See what else is certified in this category before you decide.
If you're keeping it
Whether or not the LG DLEX3850* ever needs replacing, a repair is the more common failure for a clothes dryer, one a protection plan budgets for ahead of time.
How this was checked
Ranked 159 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the LG DLEX3850* 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. The 607 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.