United Kingdom · GBP
Heated Airer vs Tumble Dryer: UK Cost Calculator
Compare what it costs to finish the same laundry load with a heated airer or tumble dryer. Enter your own electricity use and tariff, including any extra equipment used for drying.
Compare a finished load, not one hour
A heated airer with a lower hourly cost can run for longer. A tumble dryer can vary its power during a programme. Neither the rated watts nor the technology name tells you which uses less electricity to complete your load.
Use similar fabrics, laundry quantity and starting moisture after washing and spinning, then compare the same target dryness. A nominal dryer capacity and the weight an airer can hold do not prove equal drying performance. Warm-up time is also different from drying time: the Minky product specification linked below explicitly makes this distinction.
Choose the right energy figure
A complete-load kWh measurement includes the power changes and cycling that happened during that task. Enter it directly. For a watts estimate, use average electrical input over the entire time entered. Do not apply another duty-cycle reduction to either an average or a kWh measurement.
A maximum electrical rating multiplied by all elapsed hours describes continuous full-power use. It may differ from actual consumption. Thermal heat output is not electrical input: the cost calculation needs electricity drawn from the supply.
- kWh per cycle: use the documented programme and load basis. Add all cycles needed for your laundry task.
- kWh per 100 cycles: divide by 100 only when that is the printed unit. A weighted test cycle is not necessarily a full-load cycle.
- Annual kWh: do not treat this as one load or automatically divide it by 160. Check the exact documentation for its test schedule and any included low-power modes. The UK electricity calculator can price an annual energy figure directly.
UK label formats are changing. Follow the actual unit and programme on your model's product information sheet. Your fabric mix, load size, starting moisture, room conditions and dryness setting can differ from the test.
Count supporting energy once
If you use additional dehumidification, a fan or electric room heating for the drying task, include its attributable kWh. It can run for a different time from the airer: calculate its own average watts × hours ÷ 1,000 first. If a combined measurement already includes it, leave the separate supporting input at zero.
Zero means no supporting energy is counted, not proof that a room needs none. Do not assign your whole-house heating bill to a load. This tool does not automatically credit appliance warmth against home heating or quantify changes in ventilation and heat loss.
How the calculation works
Electricity per load = main appliance kWh + additional supporting kWh. In power mode, main appliance kWh = average electrical watts ÷ 1,000 × hours. Cost in pounds = total kWh × pence per kWh ÷ 100. Standing charges are excluded because they normally do not change when you choose a drying method.
An arithmetic example, not a drying-time estimate
Suppose your inputs are 300 average watts for four hours, plus 0.4 kWh of supporting electricity. That totals 1.6 kWh. A separately entered 2 kWh dryer task uses 0.4 kWh more. At 26.32p/kWh, the costs round to £0.42 and £0.53, a difference of £0.11 per completed load.
These hypothetical values are not measurements of an airer, dehumidifier or dryer, and four hours is not a promised drying time. The comparison is useful only if both entries finish the same laundry to similar dryness. The example uses the Ofgem GB Direct Debit, single-rate reference for 1 October–31 December 2026 and stays fixed when you edit the calculator.
For one dryer's programme and usage schedule, use the UK tumble dryer cost calculator. For the unit rate on your tariff, see the UK electricity calculation guide.
Common questions
Is a heated airer cheaper to run than a tumble dryer?
It depends on the electricity each method uses to finish the same laundry load to similar dryness. Compare complete-task kWh, including any additional supporting appliances, at your tariff. Lower watts or a lower hourly cost alone does not establish a cheaper completed load.
How much does it cost to run a heated airer for 24 hours?
Multiply its average electrical watts by 24, divide by 1,000, then multiply by your rate in p/kWh and divide by 100. This prices an assumed 24-hour use period; it does not show how long your laundry needs to dry or recommend that runtime.
Should I include a dehumidifier or extra room heating?
Include electricity attributable to the drying task if it is not already in your main measurement. Supporting appliances can run for a different time: calculate their kWh separately. Do not add your whole household heating bill or count the same energy twice. The calculator does not assume that every airer needs a dehumidifier.
Can I enter an annual tumble dryer energy-label figure?
Do not enter annual kWh as one load. Use a documented per-cycle figure, or divide a value labelled kWh per 100 cycles by 100 while keeping its stated test basis. Convert annual energy only when the exact product documentation explains a suitable cycle basis and any included low-power modes.
Can I use this calculator in Northern Ireland?
Yes, with the unit rate from your own electricity tariff. The Ofgem reference is for Great Britain, Direct Debit and a single-rate meter; it does not cover Northern Ireland.
Sources and checking your inputs
- Ofgem: energy price cap unit rates and standing charges — dated GB tariff reference, not every household's rate.
- GOV.UK: household tumble dryer standards and label transition — why the actual product label matters.
- Argos: Minky Wing heated airer product specification — distinguishes warm-up time from drying time. Its specifications are not calculator presets.
Source review: 3 October 2026. Appliance values are supplied by you; no model is assigned a typical drying time or energy use. Report a correction.