LG DLGX7881E Running Cost (Clothes Dryer)
Running cost for the LG DLGX7881E
At 685 kWh/yr, the LG DLGX7881E'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.
Where this ranks
That's 19.8% above the clothes dryer category average of 572 kWh/yr, and ranks 505 of 639 certified clothes dryers for annual running cost, 1 being cheapest. Every one of the 639 currently-certified clothes dryers feeds that average, putting this model about $21/year over it. See how it's calculated on the how it is calculated page.
The closest alternatives by cost
Sorted by running cost among clothes dryers, one step cheaper is LG DLGX7801E ($129/yr, 685 kWh/yr), and one step pricier is LG DLGX7901E ($129/yr, 685 kWh/yr).
Comparing LG's own models
LG makes 144 ENERGY STAR certified clothes dryers; this one ranks 131 of 144 for running cost, between the brand's cheapest, the DLHC1455 at $25/yr, and its priciest, the WSGX201HA at $129/yr.
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 LG DLGX7881E that long and it costs about $1,545 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
The LG DLGX7881E runs above its category average. If the clothes dryer you actually own is older still, likely well past ENERGY STAR's efficiency baseline when it was made, a current certified model could cost meaningfully less than this model's $129/year every year.
Worth comparing a few current certified models before deciding.
Protecting what you have
At $129/year just to run, a clothes dryer is worth protecting against an unplanned repair bill on top of that.
The data behind this page
Two sourced numbers, nothing modeled: ENERGY STAR's certified kWh/yr for this exact model, and EIA's published state electricity rate. Ranked 505 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the LG DLGX7881E 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. Whether a repair or a full replacement dryer makes more sense once the electric bill is this well known is covered in the guide to when replacing one pays off.