What a washing machine costs to run in Texas
Texas homes use 72 kWh a year on a washing machine. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $4.95 to $13.08 a year across 17 published Texas plans — a $8.13 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Not indexed. This page does not yet meet the site’s own publication threshold — 83.1% similar to /cost-to-run/electric-water-heater/texas, limit 82%. It is shown because the data behind it is real, not because it is complete.
Every priced plan, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC SPACE HEATING SERVICEtime-of-use · needs electric heating | $4.72 | −$0.23 | 7.2¢ |
| RS - TOD✓ cheapesttime-of-use | $4.95 | — | 7.4¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Program - Outside Austintime-of-use · pilot programme | $5.09 | +$0.14 | 7.9¢ |
| Residential servicetime-of-use | $5.16 | +$0.21 | 7.8¢ |
| RA - Residential All-Electrictime-of-use · tiered · needs an all-electric home | $5.72 | +$0.77 | 9.3¢ |
| RE - Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $7.00 | +$2.05 | 10.1¢ |
| Residential Service - TOUtime-of-use · demand charge | $7.23 | +$2.28 | 10.9¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Programtime-of-use · pilot programme | $8.29 | +$3.34 | 12.8¢ |
| Residential Service - TOU (Alternative)time-of-use | $8.86 | +$3.91 | 13.0¢ |
| Residential - Outside Austintiered | $8.88 | +$3.93 | 12.4¢ |
| Residential Net Metering Servicetime-of-use · tiered · needs on-site generation | $8.96 | +$4.01 | 11.5¢ |
| Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $9.24 | +$4.29 | 13.4¢ |
| Residential LSP POLR(McAllen Service Area)flat rate | $9.72 | +$4.77 | 14.1¢ |
| Residential Service Low Incometime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $9.72 | +$4.77 | 13.4¢ |
| Residentialtiered | $10.08 | +$5.13 | 13.1¢ |
| Residential Low Incometiered · low-income rate | $10.32 | +$5.37 | 19.0¢ |
| Residential LSP POLRflat rate | $13.08 | +$8.13 | 18.9¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $2.87 (RS - TOD), dearest $7.68, a $4.81 spread
- Average — cheapest $4.95 (RS - TOD), dearest $13.08, a $8.13 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $5.76 (RS - TOD), dearest $15.24, a $9.48 spread
What a washing machine costs here
Across 17 plans priced in Texas, a washing machine adds $4.95 to $13.08 a year — $0.41 to $1.09 a month. The median plan puts a washing machine at $8.87 a year.
Cheapest for a washing machine: RS - TOD, El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico). Dearest: Residential LSP POLR, Sharyland Utilities LP.
Those 72 kWh are billed at 6.8¢–18.1¢, against a 12.7¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 5.4¢ per kWh.
What Texas homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 72 kWh a year across 917 sampled homes that run one, near the national 69 kWh. The middle half spans 42 kWh to 85 kWh, so a washing machine varies by 42 kWh between one household and another.
The washer's own motor and controls. Heating the water is billed to the water heater, not here. That average covers homes with a washing machine — 88% of homes here.
That makes a washing machine about 1% of the electricity a Texas home uses. The remaining 13,367 kWh is what a washing machine 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 Texas provider's cheapest plan: El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico), $4.95; City of Lubbock, Texas (Utility Company), $5.16; City of San Antonio, Texas (Utility Company), $7.00; El Paso Electric Co, $7.23; Austin Energy, $8.88; Sharyland Utilities LP, $9.72.
Sharyland Utilities LP charges $4.77 a year more than El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico) on RS - TOD for the same 72 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a washing machine
A household in the lighter quarter runs a washing machine for 42 kWh a year and pays $2.87 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 85 kWh and pays $5.76 — $2.89 more for a washing machine on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for Texas, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 17 Texas 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 26.2034, -98.2300.