Model
Lg SWWE50*3
Rank #150 means 149 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 62nd efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 62% of those models.
What does the Lg SWWE50*3 cost to run per year?
Among the 615 clothes dryer models we track, the Lg SWWE50*3 sits in the below-average-cost group, rank #150, at roughly $113 a year. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it edges out 62% of the class, a modestly above-average showing. Its CEF of 3.94 reflects combined energy factor, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Lg WKEX300H*A at $113/yr runs a little cheaper and the Lg SWWE50*4 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 Lg SWWE50*3's $113/yr adds up to roughly $1469 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Lg DLE3090*.
By the numbers
The Lg SWWE50*3 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 Lg SWWE50*3 adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Lg SWWE50*3 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 Lg SWWE50*3 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 Lg SWWE50*3 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 3.94, 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 Lg SWWE50*3 cheap to run?
Yes. Its $113/yr running cost puts it at rank #150 of 615, below what most clothes dryer models we track cost to run.
How much does the Lg SWWE50*3 cost per month?
About $9.39 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: 607 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 Lg SWWE50*3 for its size?
62nd percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 181 | Lg WKEX300H*A7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 180 | Lg DLEX5500*7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 179 | Lg DLE6100*7.3 cu ft | $113 |
| 178 | Lg DLEX6500*7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 177 | Lg DLE3470*7.4 cu ft | $113 |
Source
ES_1118034_SWWE50*3_12232022024145_80153533View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Lg and SWWE50*3 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.