Model
Kenmore 8120#
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 Kenmore 8120# cost to run per year?
The Kenmore 8120# runs for about $59 a year, landing it near the bottom of the cost table at rank #79 of 615 clothes dryer models we track. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it edges out 72% of the class, a modestly above-average showing. Its CEF of 2.68 reflects combined energy factor, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Danby DDY040D1DSDB at $59/yr runs a little cheaper and the Danby DDY040D3WDB 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 Kenmore 8120#'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 Kenmore 8120# 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 Kenmore 8120# adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Kenmore 8120# 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 Kenmore 8120# 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 Kenmore 8120# 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 Kenmore 8120# cheap to run?
Yes. Its $59/yr running cost puts it at rank #79 of 615, below what most clothes dryer models we track cost to run.
How much does the Kenmore 8120# 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 Kenmore 8120# 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 76 | Magic Chef MCSDRY24W14 cu ft | $59 |
Source
ES_15649_8120#_090620231008615_5279187View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Kenmore and 8120# 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.