Model
Whirlpool WDFS5118SS
Rank #74 means 73 of the 709 dishwasher models we track cost less to run each year; the 11th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 11% of those models.
What does the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS cost to run per year?
Few dishwasher models we track cost less to run than the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS: about $41 a year, rank #74 of 709. It uses 28.3% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $57/yr to run, a saving of roughly $16 a year. Normalized for capacity, it beats only 11% of dishwasher models we track, one of the weaker efficiency results we track for the class. At 8 place settings, it is a small dishwasher for the class, which runs 2 to 18 place settings; size and efficiency are the two levers behind the figure above, and this dataset does not carry a separate efficiency-factor column for this class.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Whirlpool UDPS5118SP at $41/yr runs a little cheaper and the Bosch SHX78CC5UC, SHE78D7*** at $41/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A dishwasher typically stays in service for somewhere around 9 years; over that span, the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS's $41/yr adds up to roughly $369 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Beko DIS25842.
By the numbers
The Whirlpool WDFS5118SS 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 $41/yr, here is what the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS costs about $410. That is roughly $160 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $570 over the same ten years.
How the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS compares
The dishwasher class we track runs from $15 to $45 a year. At $41/yr, it runs about $3 a year cheaper than the class median of $44, and it is about $26 a year more than the cheapest dishwasher to run at $15. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $57/yr, the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS uses 28.3% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 8 place settings, the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS is a small dishwasher for its class, which spans 2 to 18 place settings with a median of 14 place settings, 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.
- Place-setting capacity. A larger dishwasher heats more water per cycle, so bigger capacity generally means a higher annual energy figure, independent of how efficient the unit is.
- Water heating. The booster heater that brings water up to sanitizing temperature is usually the single largest electrical load in a dishwasher's cycle.
- Cycle length and drying method. Cycle selection, eco versus heavy, air-dry versus heated-dry, moves real running cost more than most owners realize for a given capacity.
Common questions
Is the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS cheap to run?
Yes, relatively. At $41 a year it ranks #74 of 709 dishwasher models we track, in the cheaper part of its class to run.
How much does the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS cost per month?
Roughly $3.4/mo, spreading the $41/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 220 kWh from ENERGY STAR and multiply it by the US average residential electricity rate of $0.1856/kWh, giving about $41 a year. It is an electricity-only estimate and does not include purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Whirlpool WDFS5118SS for its size?
11th 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
Source
ES_22856_WDFS5118SS_102020250226147_6402220View certified dishwasher listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Whirlpool and WDFS5118SS 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.