Running cost for the LG DLGX4371*
At 685 kWh/yr, the LG DLGX4371*'s ENERGY STAR certification puts it more expensive than most models in its category to run against every other certified clothes dryer.
The $129 figure above uses the simple average of all 51 published state rates. Pick your state for the real number.
LG DLGX4371* against the category
That's 19.8% above the clothes dryer category average of 572 kWh/yr, and ranks 491 of 639 certified clothes dryers for annual running cost, 1 being cheapest. The category average comes from every clothes dryer ENERGY STAR currently certifies (639 models), not an outside benchmark, about $21/year above that average at the national rate. See the methodology page.
What sits beside it in the ranking
LG DLGX4501* ($129/yr, 685 kWh/yr) costs a little more to run than the LG DLGX4371*. LG DLGX4271* ($129/yr, 685 kWh/yr) costs a little less.
Same brand, different models
LG makes 144 ENERGY STAR certified clothes dryers; this one ranks 117 of 144 for running cost, between the brand's cheapest, the DLHC1455* at $25/yr, and its priciest, the WSGX201H*A at $129/yr.
What this adds up to over time
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical clothes dryer's service life at 12 years; run the LG DLGX4371* that long and it costs about $1,545 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Shopping for a new one
Running above the category average, $129/year is exactly the kind of number that makes a newer, more efficient model pay for itself faster.
Compare current ENERGY STAR certified clothes dryers before buying.
Protecting what you have
Whether or not the LG DLGX4371* ever needs replacing, a repair is the more common failure for a clothes dryer, one a protection plan budgets for ahead of time.
Sourcing
Nothing here is estimated from a nameplate wattage; the 685 kWh/yr is ENERGY STAR's own certified figure for this model. Ranked 491 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the LG DLGX4371* 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.