Model
Maytag MED5500FW*
Rank #299 means 298 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 50th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 50% of those models.
What does the Maytag MED5500FW* cost to run per year?
Among the 615 clothes dryer models we track, the Maytag MED5500FW*'s $113/yr running cost ranks it #299, close to dead center. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it sits right around the class median, ahead of 50% 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 Maytag YMED8200FW* at $113/yr runs a little cheaper and the Maytag MED8200FC* 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 Maytag MED5500FW*'s $113/yr adds up to roughly $1469 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Amana NED5800H**.
By the numbers
The Maytag MED5500FW* 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 Maytag MED5500FW* adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Maytag MED5500FW* 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 Maytag MED5500FW* 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 7.4 cu ft, the Maytag MED5500FW* 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. Its CEF of 3.93, above the class median of 3.93, reflects combined energy factor: a higher figure means it wrings more useful work out of every kilowatt-hour, so it is the efficiency lever to weigh against raw size.
- 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 Maytag MED5500FW* cheap to run?
Roughly, yes. Its $113/yr figure is close to the class median, ranking #299 of 615, neither a bargain nor a splurge on running cost.
How much does the Maytag MED5500FW* 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 Maytag MED5500FW* for its size?
50th percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 205 | Maytag YMED8200FW*7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 204 | Maytag YMED8200FC*7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 203 | Maytag MED8150EW*7.3 cu ft | $113 |
| 202 | Maytag MED8150EC*7.3 cu ft | $113 |
| 201 | Maytag YMED8100D*+7.3 cu ft | $113 |
Source
ES_22856_MED5500FW*_04282016181839_7519329View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Maytag and MED5500FW* 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.