Model
Midea MLHE31S2BBW
Rank #420 means 419 of the 615 clothes dryer models we track cost less to run each year; the 0th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 0% of those models.
What does the Midea MLHE31S2BBW cost to run per year?
Among the 615 clothes dryer models we track, the Midea MLHE31S2BBW's $113/yr running cost ranks it #420, in the above-average-cost group. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, almost the entire class outperforms it, at just the 0th percentile. Its CEF of 3.93 reflects combined energy factor, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Midea MLHE31S2BWW at $113/yr runs a little cheaper and the Midea MLHE31S2BBG 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 Midea MLHE31S2BBW's $113/yr adds up to roughly $1469 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Electrolux ELFE4333AW.
By the numbers
The Midea MLHE31S2BBW 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 Midea MLHE31S2BBW 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 MLHE31S2BBW 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 Midea MLHE31S2BBW 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 4.4 cu ft, the Midea MLHE31S2BBW 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. The CEF of 3.93 on this model, above the class median of 3.93, measures combined energy factor; it is the number to compare directly against another model's CEF if capacity is similar.
- 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 MLHE31S2BBW cheap to run?
Its $113/yr running cost, rank #420 of 615, is above what most clothes dryer models we track cost to run, so this is not one of the cheaper picks on electricity alone.
How much does the Midea MLHE31S2BBW cost per month?
About $9.4 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: 608 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 Midea MLHE31S2BBW for its size?
0th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is not the main reason for the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 417 | Midea MLHE31S2BWW4.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 416 | Midea MLHE27H7BCG4.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 415 | Whirlpool YWEF5727T**7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 414 | Whirlpool WEF5727T**7.4 cu ft | $113 |
| 413 | Ge Profile PTD80EB*T***7.4 cu ft | $113 |
Source
ES_1030337_MLHE31S2BBW_100920250837808_5174854View certified clothes dryer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Midea and MLHE31S2BBW 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.