What an electric clothes dryer costs to run in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania homes use 644 kWh a year on an electric clothes dryer. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $64.44 to $144.48 a year across 11 published Pennsylvania plans — a $80.04 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Every priced plan, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Service Add-On Heat Pumptime-of-use · needs a heat pump | $44.59 | −$19.85 | 8.4¢ |
| Residential Service Heatingtime-of-use · needs electric heating | $62.04 | −$2.40 | 11.2¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $64.44 | — | 11.5¢ |
| Residential Heating Service (RH)time-of-use · needs electric heating | $64.96 | +$0.52 | 11.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R)flat rate | $75.12 | +$10.68 | 13.0¢ |
| Residential Service Add-On Heat Pumptime-of-use · needs a heat pump | $126.00 | +$61.56 | 21.1¢ |
| Residential Heating Service (RH)time-of-use · needs electric heating | $130.92 | +$66.48 | 21.6¢ |
| Residential Service Heatingtime-of-use · needs electric heating | $134.64 | +$70.20 | 22.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R) - TOUtime-of-use | $138.89 | +$74.45 | 22.9¢ |
| Residential Service (R)flat rate | $141.00 | +$76.56 | 23.2¢ |
| Residential Serviceflat rate | $144.48 | +$80.04 | 23.9¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $27.12 (Residential Service), dearest $60.60, a $33.48 spread
- Average — cheapest $64.44 (Residential Service), dearest $144.48, a $80.04 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $80.04 (Residential Service), dearest $179.28, a $99.24 spread
What an electric clothes dryer costs here
Across 11 plans priced in Pennsylvania, an electric clothes dryer adds $64.44 to $144.48 a year — $5.37 to $12.04 a month. The median plan puts an electric clothes dryer at $138.89 a year.
Cheapest for an electric clothes dryer: Residential Service, Duquesne Light Co. Dearest: Residential Service, Duquesne Light Co.
Those 644 kWh are billed at 10.0¢–22.4¢, against a 22.9¢ whole-bill average on the median plan, so on these plans the two rates are close.
What Pennsylvania homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 644 kWh a year across 420 sampled homes that run one, near the national 680 kWh. The middle half spans 271 kWh to 800 kWh, so an electric clothes dryer varies by 529 kWh between one household and another.
The heating element and drum motor across a year of loads. That average covers homes with an electric clothes dryer — 66% of homes here.
That makes an electric clothes dryer about 6% of the electricity a Pennsylvania home uses. The remaining 9,604 kWh is what an electric clothes dryer is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each Pennsylvania provider's cheapest plan: Duquesne Light Co, $64.44; PECO Energy Co, $75.12.
PECO Energy Co charges $10.68 a year more than Duquesne Light Co on Residential Service for the same 644 kWh.
Light and heavy use of an electric clothes dryer
A household in the lighter quarter runs an electric clothes dryer for 271 kWh a year and pays $27.12 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 800 kWh and pays $80.04 — $52.92 more for an electric clothes dryer on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for Pennsylvania, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 11 Pennsylvania tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 40.4406, -79.9959.