Model
Lg DLG3181*
Rank #447 means 446 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 21st efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 21% of those models.
What does the Lg DLG3181* cost to run per year?
Do the math and the Lg DLG3181*'s $127/yr puts it at rank #447 of 615, on the pricier side of the class. Normalized for capacity, it beats only 21% of clothes dryer models we track, a below-average efficiency result. Its CEF of 3.49 reflects combined energy factor, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Lg DLG7051* at $127/yr runs a little cheaper and the Lg DLGX5006* at $127/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 Lg DLG3181*'s $127/yr adds up to roughly $1651 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Lg DLG1502*.
By the numbers
The Lg DLG3181* 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 $127/yr, here is what the Lg DLG3181* adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Lg DLG3181* costs about $1270. That is roughly $140 more than the class median, which would run closer to $1130 over the same ten years.
How the Lg DLG3181* compares
The clothes dryer class we track runs from $23 to $128 a year. At $127/yr, it runs about $14 a year above the class median of $113, and it is about $104 a year more than the cheapest clothes dryer to run at $23.
What drives its running cost
At 7.4 cu ft, the Lg DLG3181* 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, at the small end of the class, capacity itself is doing a lot of the work to keep that figure down, separate from how efficient the unit actually is. The CEF of 3.49 on this model, below the class median of 3.93, measures combined energy factor; it is the number to compare directly against another model's CEF if capacity is similar.
- Heat source and Combined Energy Factor (CEF). CEF combines drying performance with standby and off-mode energy use; for a given drum size, a higher CEF means less energy per pound of laundry dried, and heat-pump models usually post the highest figures in the class.
- Drum capacity. Drum capacity sets how much laundry one cycle can hold, and heating a bigger volume of air generally costs more energy per cycle.
Common questions
Is the Lg DLG3181* cheap to run?
Not especially. At $127 a year it ranks #447 of 615 clothes dryer models we track, in the pricier part of its class to run, though its size and features may still justify that for your needs.
How much does the Lg DLG3181* cost per month?
Roughly $10.59/mo, spreading the $127/yr estimate evenly across twelve months at $0.1856/kWh. Actual monthly bills swing with your rate and usage pattern.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
We take the model's published annual energy use of 685 kWh from ENERGY STAR and multiply it by the US average residential electricity rate of $0.1856/kWh, giving about $127 a year. It is an electricity-only estimate and does not include purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Lg DLG3181* for its size?
21st percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is not the main reason for the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 468 | Lg DLG7051*7.3 cu ft | $127 |
| 467 | Samsung DVG52M77***7.4 cu ft | $127 |
| 466 | Samsung DVG52M86***7.4 cu ft | $127 |
| 465 | Samsung DVG54M87***7.4 cu ft | $127 |
| 464 | Samsung DVG55M96***7.5 cu ft | $127 |
Source
ES_1118034_DLG3181*_04202017041626_70132177View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Lg and DLG3181* 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.