Midea MLHE31S2BBG: running cost
At 608 kWh/yr, the Midea MLHE31S2BBG's ENERGY STAR certification puts it about average for its category to run against every other certified clothes dryer.
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.
Efficient, or not, for a clothes dryer
The category average is 572 kWh/yr; this model runs 6.3% above it, ranking 319 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 $7/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 Midea MLHE31S2BBG: Midea MLHE27H7BCG ($114/yr, 608 kWh/yr), then Midea MLHE31S2BBW ($114/yr, 608 kWh/yr).
Same brand, different models
Ranked 8 of Midea's 35 certified clothes dryers, this sits between the MLE27N5AWWC ($44/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the MLTG54S7ACG ($129/yr, its priciest).
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 Midea MLHE31S2BBG that long and it costs about $1,372 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Shopping for a new one
Efficient as certified clothes dryers go, $114/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
Whether or not the Midea MLHE31S2BBG ever needs replacing, a repair is the more common failure for a clothes dryer, one a protection plan budgets for ahead of time.
Where this number comes from
Nothing here is estimated from a nameplate wattage; the 608 kWh/yr is ENERGY STAR's own certified figure for this model. Ranked 319 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the Midea MLHE31S2BBG 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.