Model
Whirlpool WCD5090J**
Rank #69 means 68 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 85th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 85% of those models.
What does the Whirlpool WCD5090J** cost to run per year?
Among the 615 clothes dryer models we track, the Whirlpool WCD5090J**'s $59/yr running cost ranks it #69, comfortably in the cheap-to-run group. Few clothes dryer models we track beat it on size-adjusted efficiency; it edges out 85% of the class once capacity is normalized. At a CEF of 2.68, 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 Fisher&Paykel DE4024P2 at $59/yr runs a little cheaper and the Whirlpool WCD3090J** at $59/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 Whirlpool WCD5090J**'s $59/yr adds up to roughly $767 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Whirlpool WCD3090J**.
By the numbers
The Whirlpool WCD5090J** 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 $59/yr, here is what the Whirlpool WCD5090J** adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Whirlpool WCD5090J** costs about $590. That is roughly $540 less than the class median, which would run closer to $1130 over the same ten years.
How the Whirlpool WCD5090J** compares
The clothes dryer class we track runs from $23 to $128 a year. At $59/yr, it runs about $54 a year cheaper than the class median of $113, and it is about $36 a year more than the cheapest clothes dryer to run at $23.
What drives its running cost
At 4.3 cu ft, the Whirlpool WCD5090J** 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 2.68, below 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 Whirlpool WCD5090J** cheap to run?
Yes. Its $59/yr running cost puts it at rank #69 of 615, below what most clothes dryer models we track cost to run.
How much does the Whirlpool WCD5090J** cost per month?
About $4.9 a month, which is the $59 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: 317 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $59 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Whirlpool WCD5090J** for its size?
85th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is a real factor in the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 67 | Fisher&Paykel DE4024P24.1 cu ft | $59 |
| 66 | Bosch WTG86403UC4 cu ft | $59 |
| 65 | Electrolux ELFE4222***4 cu ft | $59 |
| 64 | Electrolux ELFE422C***4 cu ft | $59 |
| 63 | Ge GFT14JS*M***4.1 cu ft | $59 |
Source
ES_22856_WCD5090J**_062920211646640_5103087View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Whirlpool and WCD5090J** 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.