Running cost for the Summit DW243B
At 234 kWh/yr, the Summit DW243B's ENERGY STAR certification puts it about average for its category to run against every other certified dishwasher.
That $44 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 dishwasher
The category average is 232 kWh/yr; this model runs 0.9% above it, ranking 272 of 737 dishwashers tracked here for running cost. That average is drawn from all 737 dishwashers ENERGY STAR currently certifies, not an outside number, a $0/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 Summit DW243B: Summit DW242WADA ($44/yr, 234 kWh/yr), then Summit DW243BADA ($44/yr, 234 kWh/yr).
Same brand, different models
Ranked 20 of Summit's 33 certified dishwashers, this sits between the DW18SS4 ($41/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the LDW24WA ($44/yr, its priciest).
What this adds up to over time
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical dishwasher's service life at 9 years; run the Summit DW243B that long and it costs about $396 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
Efficient as certified dishwashers go, $44/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
A dishwasher like the Summit DW243B 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 272 of 737, the Summit DW243B sits in the middle of the dishwasher category, see the guide to why your state changes this number for the other half of the math.