Energy Consumption of Clothes Dryers
Key facts
- In May 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the introduction of ENERGY STAR-certified residential clothes dryers. ENERGY STAR-certified clothes dryers use innovative energy-saving technologies to save more electricity than conventional clothes dryers.
- The average drum capacity of clothes dryers increased 23% from 1992 to 2017. Conversely, the average energy consumption per drum litre decreased by 50%.
- Consumers are now drying more clothes per load and each load is consuming less energy.
- To learn more about purchasing an energy-efficient clothes dryer, visit the ENERGY STAR clothes dryers page.
Average annual unit energy consumption
- The average annual unit energy consumption (UEC) of clothes dryers was 6% lower in 2016 than 1992.
- The significant decrease in 2017 represents changes to the test procedures used to measure energy efficiency, which were updated as a result of amendments to the Energy Efficiency Regulations that came into force in 2017.1 The updated test procedures mean data for the year 2017 are not directly comparable to previous years’ data (see the figure titled “Average annual UEC of electric clothes dryers, 1992–2017”).
- The increasing market share of front-loading clothes washers has helped reduce the average energy consumed by clothes dryers because front-loading clothes washers remove more moisture from clothes than top-loading clothes washers do. Less moisture in the clothes means that less energy is consumed to dry the clothes. The effect of front-loading clothes washers on the energy consumed by clothes dryers is not reflected in the UEC data.
- Moisture detectors in clothes dryers reduce energy consumption by automatically shutting off when a load is dry.
See Choosing and Using Appliances With EnerGuide for more information.
Text version
Average annual UEC of electric clothes dryers, 1992–2017 (kWh/yr)
Model year | kWh/yr |
---|---|
1992 | 983.3 |
1993 | 928.5 |
1994 | 910.4 |
1995 | 909.1 |
1996 | 887.4 |
1997 | 887.3 |
1998 | 900.2 |
1999 | 907.5 |
2000 | 909.8 |
2001 | 916.3 |
2002 | 915.6 |
2003 | 914.2 |
2004 | 911.9 |
2005 | 903.8 |
2006 | 904.6 |
2007 | 912.1 |
2008 | 916.0 |
2009 | 921.4 |
2010 | 928.0 |
2011 | 932.9 |
2012 | 928.5 |
2013 | 926.4 |
2014 | 924.2 |
2015 | 923.3 |
2016 | 922.9 |
2017 | 604.8 |
The vertical black line indicates that energy consumption figures from 2017 onward incorporate changes introduced in Amendment 13 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations and are not directly comparable to previous years' data.
Distribution of clothes dryer shipments by unit energy consumption
From 1992 to 2016, the share of electric clothes dryers consuming less than 900 kWh/yr decreased while the share of electric clothes dryers consuming over 950 kWh/yr increased. This change was due mainly to the growing market share of larger capacity units. In 2017, the significant increase in the share of electric clothes dryers consuming less than 800 kWh/yr represents changes to the test procedures used to measure energy efficiency, which were updated as a result of amendments to the Energy Efficiency Regulations that came into force in 2017.1 The updated test procedures mean that data for 2017 are not directly comparable to previous years’ data.
Text version
Distribution of electric clothes dryers by average annual UEC, 1992–2017 (%)
350–799.9 kWh/yr | 800–899.9 kWh/yr | 900–949.9 kWh/yr | 950–999.9 kWh/yr | 1000–1249.9 kWh/yr | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | 4.4 | 28.9 | 37.5 | 13.6 | 15.6 |
1993 | 4.1 | 28.9 | 53.6 | 0.1 | 13.2 |
1994 | 4.3 | 24.0 | 54.6 | 0.0 | 17.1 |
1995 | 3.2 | 16.2 | 68.5 | 0.8 | 11.3 |
1996 | 4.2 | 11.8 | 82.8 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
1997 | 4.9 | 12.9 | 80.7 | 1.4 | 0.0 |
1998 | 3.2 | 8.8 | 87.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
1999 | 2.7 | 7.2 | 88.3 | 1.8 | 0.0 |
2000 | 2.7 | 7.7 | 84.6 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
2001 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 87.1 | 6.3 | 0.0 |
2002 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 85.5 | 6.7 | 0.0 |
2003 | 2.7 | 10.0 | 77.0 | 10.3 | 0.0 |
2004 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 75.3 | 16.3 | 0.0 |
2005 | 6.1 | 3.2 | 74.1 | 16.6 | 0.0 |
2006 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 69.8 | 21.2 | 0.0 |
2007 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 67.8 | 24.4 | 0.0 |
2008 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 60.7 | 32.5 | 0.0 |
2009 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 56.1 | 38.1 | 0.0 |
2010 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 53.4 | 41.9 | 0.0 |
2011 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 45.5 | 49.1 | 0.0 |
2012 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 42.0 | 51.6 | 0.0 |
2013 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 43.4 | 49.0 | 0.0 |
2014 | 2.4 | 9.8 | 48.1 | 39.7 | 0.0 |
2015 | 2.3 | 11.6 | 50.9 | 35.2 | 0.0 |
2016 | 2.7 | 6.9 | 58.2 | 32.3 | 0.0 |
2017 | 99.9 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
The vertical black line indicates that energy consumption figures from 2017 onward incorporate changes introduced in Amendment 13 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations and are not directly comparable to previous years' data.
Drum capacity
The increase in the shipment share of more energy-intensive electric clothes dryers is due mainly to the growing average drum capacity of electric clothes dryers. The average drum capacity of electric clothes dryers increased by 23% from 1992 to 2017. Conversely, the average energy consumption per drum litre has decreased at a faster rate during the same period (53%). Consumers are drying more clothes per load, but each load is consuming less energy per unit of dryer volume.
Text version
Average drum capacity of electric clothes dryers, 1992–2017 (litres)
Model year | Average drum capacity (litres) |
---|---|
1992 | 161.59 |
1993 | 162.75 |
1994 | 171.17 |
1995 | 174.61 |
1996 | 172.68 |
1997 | 174.75 |
1998 | 174.05 |
1999 | 171.75 |
2000 | 174.68 |
2001 | 175.27 |
2002 | 176.30 |
2003 | 177.10 |
2004 | 176.85 |
2005 | 175.44 |
2006 | 179.72 |
2007 | 181.39 |
2008 | 182.76 |
2009 | 188.34 |
2010 | 194.80 |
2011 | 195.30 |
2012 | 195.70 |
2013 | 196.80 |
2014 | 200.50 |
2015 | 201.26 |
2016 | 202.10 |
2017 | 198.30 |
Average energy consumption of electric clothes dryers, 1992–2017 (kWh/litre)
Model year | Average energy consumption |
---|---|
1992 | 6.08 |
1993 | 5.70 |
1994 | 5.32 |
1995 | 5.21 |
1996 | 5.14 |
1997 | 5.08 |
1998 | 5.17 |
1999 | 5.28 |
2000 | 5.21 |
2001 | 5.23 |
2002 | 5.19 |
2003 | 5.16 |
2004 | 5.16 |
2005 | 5.15 |
2006 | 5.03 |
2007 | 5.03 |
2008 | 5.01 |
2009 | 4.89 |
2010 | 4.78 |
2011 | 4.78 |
2012 | 4.74 |
2013 | 4.71 |
2014 | 4.61 |
2015 | 4.59 |
2016 | 4.57 |
2017 | 3.05 |
- Changes to the test procedures for clothes dryers included amendment reflecting updated research on their frequency of use and on consumer habits.