Households using a tumble dryer will pay this going rate for a year of using the appliance using April’s new price cap. Running a tumble dryer can still be expensive, especially if you’re running it for hours at a time. Currently, electricity costs an average of 27.69p per kWh, and it will go down to 24.67p per kWh from April 1, when Ofgem reduces the price of gas and electricity by an average of 6.6% compared to the previous cap, or £117 a year.

Consumer Magazine Which? has estimated the annual running cost for using a tumble dryer, based on drying three loads of cotton a week for a year using the April 2026 energy price cap of 24.67p per kWh of electricity.

According to consumer website Which?, the average condenser tumble dryer will cost £129.56 per year to run from April.

There are four main types of dryer including: Eco Buy, condenser, vented and heat pump. Which? says one is cheaper than the others. The most commonly owned type is the condenser dryer.

For a vented tumble dryer, the average cost is £130.98 per year, or for a heat pump tumble dryer, the cost is £51.47 per year.

Which? says: “Although they can be expensive to buy, heat pump tumble dryers cost a lot less to run than condenser or vented models.

“You can pick up an affordable heat pump dryer for around £350, but most cost more than £550 and top-of-the-range models can be more than £1,000.

“However, over time, the savings made in reduced energy costs will more than offset the higher purchase price.”

If you’re looking to save money on bills right now, the best way to do it is to get a fix.

There are still fixed energy deals cheaper than the April price cap available on the market, which will save you money against the new prices and guarantee to lock your price in for the next 12 months, but time is rapidly running out to grab one before April and before all of the cheapest deals disappear due to the conflict in the Middle East pushing up the prices.