Whirlpool WGD5720R Running Cost (Clothes Dryer)
Whirlpool WGD5720R: running cost
ENERGY STAR certifies the Whirlpool WGD5720R at 687 kWh/yr, more expensive than most models in its category to run for its category.
That $129 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 20.1% above it, ranking 628 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 $22/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 Whirlpool WGD5720R: Whirlpool WGD5620H ($129/yr, 687 kWh/yr), then Whirlpool WGD6605M ($129/yr, 687 kWh/yr).
Within the Whirlpool lineup
Ranked 103 of Whirlpool's 114 certified clothes dryers, this sits between the WHD3090G ($43/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the WGF5727T ($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 Whirlpool WGD5720R that long and it costs about $1,550 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
The Whirlpool WGD5720R 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.
See what else is certified in this category before you decide.
If you're keeping it
A clothes dryer like the Whirlpool WGD5720R 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.
Where this number comes from
Two sourced numbers, nothing modeled: ENERGY STAR's certified kWh/yr for this exact model, and EIA's published state electricity rate. Ranked 628 of 639 certified dryers for running cost, the Whirlpool WGD5720R 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 rest of what changes this number, by state rather than by model, is in the guide to why your state changes this number.