Model
Midea MLE27N5AWWC
Rank #38 means 37 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 93rd efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 93% of those models.
What does the Midea MLE27N5AWWC cost to run per year?
The Midea MLE27N5AWWC holds rank #38 of 615 on running cost, at about $44 a year, a genuinely cheap result for the class. Its size-adjusted efficiency percentile of 93 means the low running cost is not just a function of size; it is genuinely efficient for its class. Its CEF of 10.14 reflects combined energy factor, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Whirlpool YWHD3090G** at $43/yr runs a little cheaper and the Insignia NS-FDRE44W1-C at $44/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 Midea MLE27N5AWWC's $44/yr adds up to roughly $572 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Insignia NS-FDRE44W1-C.
By the numbers
The Midea MLE27N5AWWC 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 $44/yr, here is what the Midea MLE27N5AWWC adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Midea MLE27N5AWWC costs about $440. That is roughly $690 less than the class median, which would run closer to $1130 over the same ten years.
How the Midea MLE27N5AWWC compares
The clothes dryer class we track runs from $23 to $128 a year. At $44/yr, it runs about $69 a year cheaper than the class median of $113, and it is about $21 a year more than the cheapest clothes dryer to run at $23.
What drives its running cost
At 4.5 cu ft, the Midea MLE27N5AWWC 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 10.14, 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 Midea MLE27N5AWWC cheap to run?
Yes. Its $44/yr running cost puts it at rank #38 of 615, below what most clothes dryer models we track cost to run.
How much does the Midea MLE27N5AWWC cost per month?
About $3.65 a month, which is the $44 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: 236 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $44 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Midea MLE27N5AWWC for its size?
93rd 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | Whirlpool YWHD3090G**4.3 cu ft | $43 |
| 35 | Whirlpool WHD3090G**4.3 cu ft | $43 |
| 34 | Whirlpool YWHD5090G**4.3 cu ft | $43 |
| 33 | Whirlpool WHD5090G**4.3 cu ft | $43 |
| 32 | Smeg DH24UWH4.5 cu ft | $42 |
Source
ES_1030337_MLE27N5AWWC_09022020070024_0024999View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Midea and MLE27N5AWWC 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.