Model
Whirlpool YWED5220R**
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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** cost to run per year?
The Whirlpool YWED5220R** holds rank #299 of 615 on running cost, at about $113 a year, an unremarkable but typical figure for the class. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it sits right around the class median, ahead of 50% of the models we track. Its CEF of 3.93 reflects combined energy factor, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Whirlpool WED4720R** at $113/yr runs a little cheaper and the Whirlpool WED5720R** 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 Whirlpool YWED5220R**'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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** 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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** 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 YWED5220R** 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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** 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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** 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, and smaller clothes dryer models generally cost less to run for the same job, all else being equal. 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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** 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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** 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 Whirlpool YWED5220R** 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 397 | Whirlpool WED4720R**7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 396 | Midea MLE52N7AWW8 cu ft | $113 |
| 395 | Whirlpool YWED5220LR**7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 394 | Whirlpool WED5220LR**7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 393 | Electrolux ELFE7626***8 cu ft | $113 |
Source
ES_22856_YWED5220R**_010920251432571_9933168View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Whirlpool and YWED5220R** 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.