How much does it cost to run a washing machine per load in the UK?
A washing machine on a 40 degree cotton wash uses about 0.68 kilowatt hours, which costs 17.8p at the current Ofgem cap rate of 26.11p per kWh. An A rated machine does the same load for 13.3p and an E rated one for 23.5p, so four loads a week costs between £2.31 and £4.07 a month.
Where the energy in a wash goes
Almost all of it heats the water. The drum motor and the pump are small loads, and that is why the plate rating on the back of the machine, often 2000 watts or more, tells you almost nothing about what a cycle costs. The machine only draws that while the element is on, which is the first twenty minutes or so.
The UK energy label reflects that by quoting kilowatt hours per 100 cycles on the eco 40 to 60 programme. Citizens Advice gives the worked example in its appliance guidance, where an A rated machine uses 51 kilowatt hours per 100 cycles, a C rated machine 68, and an E rated machine 90. Divide by a hundred and you have your per load figure of 0.51, 0.68 or 0.90 kilowatt hours.
That spread is the difference between machines. The spread between programmes on the same machine is just as large, since temperature is what costs money.
It also answers the question people ask most often, which is what a two hour or three hour cycle costs. A long eco programme is not three times the price of a short one. It washes for longer at a lower temperature, so the element does less work while the drum does more, and the label figure already covers the whole cycle from the first fill to the final spin.
The sum, worked in full
Take the middle figure, 0.68 kilowatt hours a load. Multiply by the cap rate of 26.11 pence and the wash costs 17.8p.
Four loads a week is 17.3 loads a month, so £3.08, or £36.93 across a year on 208 loads. An A rated machine at 0.51 kilowatt hours brings the year down to £27.70 and an E rated one at 0.90 pushes it up to £48.88.
Work it out for your own washing machine
Type in the wattage from the plate on the back, then your own unit rate. The numbers update as you type.
What a load costs by energy rating
| Machine and cycle | kWh per load | Per load | Four loads a week | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A rated, eco 40 to 60 | 0.51 | 13.3p | £2.31 a month | £27.70 |
| C rated, eco 40 to 60 | 0.68 | 17.8p | £3.08 a month | £36.93 |
| E rated, eco 40 to 60 | 0.90 | 23.5p | £4.07 a month | £48.88 |
| Hot 60 degree cotton wash | 1.05 | 27.4p | £4.75 a month | £57.02 |
| Appliance | Typical draw | Usage we assume | Per hour (UK) | Per usage (UK) | Per month (UK) | Per hour (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washing machine | 700 W | per 40 degree cotton wash | 18.3p | 17.8p | £3.08 | 12.8 cents |
Rates: Ofgem cap 1 July to 30 September 2026 at 26.11p per kWh (source), EIA residential average June 2026 at 18.34 cents per kWh (source). Checked 2026-09-22.
The 60 degree row is worked from physics rather than a label, since lifting twenty litres of water from fifteen degrees to sixty takes 1.05 kilowatt hours of heat on its own. In the United States the same 0.68 kilowatt hour load costs 12.5 cents at the EIA residential average of 18.34 cents per kilowatt hour, which is $2.16 a month for four loads a week.
Six changes that actually save money
- Wash at thirty rather than forty. Heating the water is nearly the whole cost, so a lower temperature cuts the biggest part of the bill and modern detergents are designed for it.
- Use the eco programme even though it runs longer. The extra hour is motor time, which is cheap, and the saving comes from the lower water temperature.
- Fill the drum properly. A half load costs close to a full one, and two half loads cost nearly twice what one full load does.
- Skip the prewash unless something is genuinely filthy. It is an extra fill and an extra heat for most household washing.
- Spin faster before drying. Every bit of water the spin removes is water the tumble dryer does not have to boil off at four times the price.
- Check the door seal and the filter. A machine that does not drain properly leaves clothes wetter, which pushes the cost onto the dryer instead.
Does the time of day change anything
Only if your tariff says so. Under the Ofgem price cap a standard variable tariff charges the same unit rate around the clock, so a midnight wash and a midday wash cost exactly the same. Time of use tariffs are the exception, and on one of those the overnight window can be less than half the day rate, which makes a delay timer worth setting.
The daily standing charge does not enter into any of this either, since it lands on the bill whether the machine runs or not. Anybody quoting a cheaper Sunday wash on a standard tariff is repeating something that stopped being true when Economy 7 stopped being the default.
The wash is not the expensive part
Here is the number that changes how people do laundry. The wash costs 17.8p. Drying the same load in a vented or condenser tumble dryer uses about 2.5 kilowatt hours and costs 65.3p, so the dryer costs nearly four times the wash and the pair together come to 83.0p a load.
Change the drying method and the whole figure moves. A heat pump tumble dryer uses about 1.5 kilowatt hours and costs 39.2p. A heated clothes airer at 300 watts for four hours uses 1.2 kilowatt hours and costs 31.3p. Drying outside on a decent day costs nothing at all.
Across 208 loads a year, washing and tumble drying every one of them costs £172.70, while washing and using a heated airer costs £102.10. That is a gap of £70.60 a year for the same clean clothes, and it comes from the appliance nobody thinks to question rather than from the one with the programme dial on the front.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a washing machine for an hour?
The hour is the wrong unit for a washing machine, because the heater only works for the first part of the cycle. A whole two hour eco wash uses about 0.68 kilowatt hours and costs 17.8p, so quoting a per hour figure from the plate rating would overstate it several times over.
How much does it cost to run a washing machine and dryer together?
About 83.0p for the pair, taking 17.8p for the wash and 65.3p for a vented or condenser tumble dryer at 2.5 kilowatt hours. A heat pump dryer brings the drying side down to 39.2p and a heated airer to 31.3p.
Is it cheaper to put the washing machine on at night?
Only on a time of use tariff. On a standard variable tariff under the price cap the unit rate is the same at three in the morning as it is at noon, so the saving people talk about only exists if you have moved to an off peak deal.
Does a washing machine use a lot of electricity?
Less than most people think. At 0.68 kilowatt hours a load it uses about the same as four kettle boils, and the dryer standing next to it uses nearly four times as much for the same washing.