Model
Ge GFD40ESM****
Rank #269 means 268 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 29th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 29% of those models.
What does the Ge GFD40ESM**** cost to run per year?
Among the 615 clothes dryer models we track, the Ge GFD40ESM****'s $113/yr running cost ranks it #269, close to dead center. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it trails most of the class, ahead of only 29% of the models we track. At a CEF of 3.93, its combined energy factor is the single figure that best explains how it earns its running-cost number.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Ge GFD45ESM**** at $113/yr runs a little cheaper and the Electrolux EFMC427**** at $113/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A clothes dryer typically stays in service for somewhere around 13 years; over that span, the Ge GFD40ESM****'s $113/yr adds up to roughly $1469 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
By the numbers
The Ge GFD40ESM**** normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $113/yr, here is what the Ge GFD40ESM**** adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Ge GFD40ESM**** costs about $1130. That is roughly $0 less than the class median, which would run closer to $1130 over the same ten years.
How the Ge GFD40ESM**** compares
The clothes dryer class we track runs from $23 to $128 a year. At $113/yr, it sits right on the class median of $113, and it is about $90 a year more than the cheapest clothes dryer to run at $23.
What drives its running cost
At 7 cu ft, the Ge GFD40ESM**** is a small clothes dryer for its class, which spans 3.8 to 9.2 cu ft with a median of 7.4 cu ft, less capacity to service is usually the first reason a running-cost figure lands on the low side, before efficiency even enters the picture. Beyond size, its CEF of 3.93, above the class median of 3.93, is the class's own efficiency yardstick, combined energy factor, and it is what separates two similarly sized models with different running costs.
- Heat source and Combined Energy Factor (CEF). Heat-pump dryers recycle heat instead of generating it fresh with a resistance coil, and typically use meaningfully less electricity per load than a conventional resistance dryer, at the cost of a longer cycle; CEF is the federal figure that captures this.
- Drum capacity. A larger drum can dry a bigger load per cycle, but it also usually needs more energy per cycle to heat the extra air volume.
Common questions
Is the Ge GFD40ESM**** cheap to run?
Roughly, yes. Its $113/yr figure is close to the class median, ranking #269 of 615, neither a bargain nor a splurge on running cost.
How much does the Ge GFD40ESM**** cost per month?
About $9.4 a month, which is the $113 annual estimate spread across twelve months at the US average rate of $0.1856/kWh. Your own bill scales with your local electricity rate and how heavily you use it.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
The formula is annual kWh times price per kWh: 608 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $113 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Ge GFD40ESM**** for its size?
29th percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 268 | Ge GFD45ESM****7.5 cu ft | $113 |
| 267 | Ge GTD75ECML***7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 266 | Crosley CED7464G**7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 265 | Whirlpool YWED85HEFW*7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 264 | Whirlpool YWED85HEFC*7.4 cu ft | $113 |
Source
ES_1123206_GFD40ESM****_12152017151458_0898758View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Ge and GFD40ESM**** are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.