Model
Danby DDY040D3WDB
Rank #79 means 78 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 72nd efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 72% of those models.
What does the Danby DDY040D3WDB cost to run per year?
The Danby DDY040D3WDB costs about $59 a year to run and sits near the top of the cheapest-to-run leaderboard, rank #79 of 615. Once capacity is factored in, its 72th efficiency percentile puts it ahead of most peers in its class. The CEF figure of 2.68 on this model captures combined energy factor, the main efficiency lever ENERGY STAR tracks for this class.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Kenmore 8120# at $59/yr runs a little cheaper and the Danby DDY040D4WDB 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 Danby DDY040D3WDB's $59/yr adds up to roughly $767 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Aeg DC240.
By the numbers
The Danby DDY040D3WDB 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 Danby DDY040D3WDB adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Danby DDY040D3WDB 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 Danby DDY040D3WDB 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 cu ft, the Danby DDY040D3WDB 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, at the small end of the class, capacity itself is doing a lot of the work to keep that figure down, separate from how efficient the unit actually is. Beyond size, its CEF of 2.68, below 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). CEF combines drying performance with standby and off-mode energy use; for a given drum size, a higher CEF means less energy per pound of laundry dried, and heat-pump models usually post the highest figures in the class.
- Drum capacity. Drum capacity sets how much laundry one cycle can hold, and heating a bigger volume of air generally costs more energy per cycle.
Common questions
Is the Danby DDY040D3WDB cheap to run?
Yes, relatively. At $59 a year it ranks #79 of 615 clothes dryer models we track, in the cheaper part of its class to run.
How much does the Danby DDY040D3WDB cost per month?
Roughly $4.9/mo, spreading the $59/yr estimate evenly across twelve months at $0.1856/kWh. Actual monthly bills swing with your rate and usage pattern.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
We take the model's published annual energy use of 317 kWh from ENERGY STAR and multiply it by the US average residential electricity rate of $0.1856/kWh, giving about $59 a year. It is an electricity-only estimate and does not include purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Danby DDY040D3WDB for its size?
72nd 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 81 | Kenmore 8120#4 cu ft | $59 |
| 80 | Danby DDY040D1DSDB4 cu ft | $59 |
| 79 | Aeg DC2404 cu ft | $59 |
| 78 | Fulgor Milano FM4CD24W14 cu ft | $59 |
| 77 | Equator Advanced Appliances CD 4040 **4 cu ft | $59 |
Source
ES_31682_DDY040D3WDB_082920231514220_1018047View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Danby and DDY040D3WDB 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.