Maytag MED5500FW*: running cost
ENERGY STAR certifies the Maytag MED5500FW* at 608 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 Maytag MED5500FW* compares to other clothes dryers
The category average is 572 kWh/yr; this model runs 6.3% above it, ranking 282 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 Maytag MED5500FW* on that list: Kenmore C6913*41* ($114/yr, 608 kWh/yr) runs slightly less, while Maytag MED5630H** ($114/yr, 608 kWh/yr) runs slightly more.
Within the Maytag lineup
Of the 42 ENERGY STAR certified clothes dryers Maytag makes, the MED5500FW* is the cheapest to run, $15/year less than Maytag's priciest, the MGDB955FW*.
Maytag MED5500FW* 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 Maytag MED5500FW* that long and it costs about $1,372 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
A clothes dryer like the Maytag MED5500FW* is a real household expense whether or not it needs replacing yet; a protection plan is one way to budget for a repair rather than a full replacement.
How this was checked
Ranked 282 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the Maytag MED5500FW* 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 608 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.