Advanced options
The airer's hidden cost is moisture: a load releases 1-2 litres of water into the room, so pair it with an open window or (better) a dehumidifier, which speeds drying AND protects the walls: the airer + dehumidifier combo often beats both machines run alone. The cover accessory roughly halves drying time for the same wattage. Heat-pump tumble dryers (~1.5 kWh/load) close most of the gap.
What The Heated Airer Cost Calculator Works Out
- Per dry: the airer's wattage x hours, divided by 1,000 for kilowatt-hours and multiplied by the unit rate. A 230W airer trickling over an eight-hour dry uses about 1.8 kWh, just under 50p at the current Ofgem price cap unit rate.
- Per month: the per-dry cost multiplied by the dries you do. Three loads a week is GBP 6 to GBP 7 a month.
- Vs condenser tumble dryer: a condenser load at about 2.5 kWh costs roughly 65p, and old vented machines a pound-plus. The airer's remaining edges are gentleness on clothes, silence and a purchase price a tenth of the dryer's.
- Electricity unit rate (advanced): defaults to the current Ofgem price cap unit rate but is editable for your tariff.
- Zip-up cover (advanced): the cover traps the warm air and roughly halves drying time for the same wattage, so the per-dry cost halves with it.
- Dehumidifier alongside (advanced): adds the wattage of a dehumidifier running for the same hours. It speeds the dry and captures the load's one to two litres of water as tank water rather than wall damp, and the combination frequently beats either machine alone on cost per actually-dry load.
- Tumble dryer and heat pump dryer use (advanced): edit the kWh per load for the dryers you are comparing. Vented dryers use 3 to 4 kWh, condensers 2 to 3 kWh and heat pump models 1 to 2 kWh, which closes most of the gap for anyone buying new.
- Per year and saving vs tumble dryer (advanced): the monthly cost x 12, and what the same loads would have cost in the tumble dryer minus the airer's running cost.
- Payback on the airer (advanced): the purchase price divided by the annual saving, in months. A GBP 60 airer replacing three condenser loads a week pays back inside a year. Always run the extra spin cycle first, since mechanical water removal is far cheaper than evaporation, and shake out the heated-bar creases.