Running cost for the Midea MLHE31S2BBW
At 608 kWh/yr, the Midea MLHE31S2BBW'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 320 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 MLHE31S2BBW: Midea MLHE31S2BBG ($114/yr, 608 kWh/yr), then Midea MLHE31S2BWW ($114/yr, 608 kWh/yr).
Comparing Midea's own models
Ranked 9 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).
Cost over its typical lifespan
Over the 12-year service life NAHB reports for this category, running the Midea MLHE31S2BBW costs roughly $1,372 in electricity, separate from the purchase price.
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 MLHE31S2BBW 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
Ranked 320 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the Midea MLHE31S2BBW 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.