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Page added on March 20, 2013
Which Costs More: A Load of Laundry or a Cup of Coffee?
Does a load of laundry cost you more than a cup of coffee? That’s not a question many can answer, yet depending on where you live the size of your household, laundry can be expensive … or not.
As far as saving money on laundry, the decisive factor is the age of your washer and whether it is EnergyStar-rated or not. That’s because heating the water accounts for about 80% of the energy washers use. The most efficient machines also use the least water – less water to heat means less money spent on energy…and since we’re also paying for the water, efficiency has a double dividend. This is especially true in urban areas, where municipal water and sewer rates tend to be higher.
Considering power and water costs, however, makes for a trickier picture when it comes to finding savings: a city’s power price relative to other areas can be very different from its relative water price – but both determine how much a new washer can save you compared to an old model.
Taking the search nation-wide, here’s what I found:
In New York City and Los Angeles, electricity accounts for the majority of the cost per load – in DC and San Francisco on the other hand, water is the more expensive component. Check out the price breakdown for those cities in the table below.
Overall, New York is the most expensive place to do a load of laundry because both power and water prices are relatively high: smart New Yorkers should wash their dirty laundry in Albany (which is of course easier said than done)! If you think paying a little more than a dollar per load isn’t a lot, think again, the average family does more than five loads of laundry each week*. In addition, old washers are much less efficient than the least efficient new ones, and guaranteed to cost you a latte! Chicago and Philadelphia have the cheapest load of laundry in the country, at less than half the cost of a New York load.
Energy Collective
For each city, we calculated the cost difference between a new washer meeting the minimum mandated federal standard, labeled here Non-Energy Star, and washers receiving the Energy Star Most Efficient award.
Since the efficient washers use much less water, their impact on your pocketbook is greatest where water is most expensive. In other words, switching from a non-EnergyStar machine to a super-efficient one saves you money everywhere, but it saves you relatively more money in places where water costs the most.
Seattle and Atlanta are the perfect examples: their power prices are among the lowest (even lower than cheapo Chicago!), but their water prices are highest. Those are the cities where a new machine can save you the most – a whopping 72c per load or $180 per year for a 5 load a week family. At that rate, the incremental cost of an efficient washer pays for itself rather quickly.
So to sum up: buying an efficient washing machine is worth it, but it is especially worth it if you pay a lot for water … or do a lot of laundry! Here’s to clean clothes!
(* official DOE numbers set the number at 392 load per household per year … but that just seems to be a lot)
| City | Washer Type | Energy Cost ($) | Water Cost ($) | Total Cost ($) | Savings per load ($) | Savings per load (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | Non-EnergyStar | $0.40 | $0.25 | $0.66 | $0.42 | 64% |
| Energy Star | $0.25 | $0.16 | $0.42 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.16 | $0.08 | $0.24 | |||
| Atlanta | Non-EnergyStar | $0.32 | $0.85 | $1.02 | $0.68 | 67% |
| Energy Star | $0.16 | $0.54 | $0.64 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.10 | $0.27 | $0.33 | |||
| Boston | Non-EnergyStar | $0.48 | $0.51 | $0.99 | $0.64 | %64 |
| Energy Star | $0.30 | $0.32 | $0.63 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.19 | $0.16 | $0.35 | |||
| Chicago | Non-EnergyStar | $0.06 | $0.21 | $0.51 | $0.32 | 64% |
| Energy Star | $0.19 | $0.13 | $0.32 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.18 | |||
| DC | Non-EnergyStar | $0.35 | $0.46 | $0.82 | $0.53 | 65% |
| Energy Star | $0.22 | $0.29 | $0.52 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.14 | $0.15 | $0.29 | |||
| Houston | Non-EnergyStar | $0.32 | $0.37 | $0.70 | $0.45 | 65% |
| Energy Star | $0.20 | $0.24 | $0.44 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.13 | $0.12 | $0.25 | |||
| Los Angeles | Non-EnergyStar | $0.46 | $0.37 | $0.82 | $0.53 | 64% |
| Energy Star | $0.29 | $0.24 | $0.52 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.18 | $0.12 | $0.30 | |||
| New York | Non-EnergyStar | $0.69 | $0.43 | $1.13 | $0.72 | 64% |
| Energy Star | $0.44 | $0.27 | $0.71 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.27 | $0.14 | $0.41 | |||
| Philadelphia | Non-EnergyStar | $0.28 | $0.30 | $0.58 | $0.38 | 65% |
| Energy Star | $0.18 | $0.19 | $0.37 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.11 | $0.09 | $0.21 | |||
| Phoenix | Non-EnergyStar | $0.36 | $0.29 | $0.66 | $0.42 | 64% |
| Energy Star | $0.23 | $0.18 | $0.41 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.14 | $0.09 | $0.24 | |||
| San Diego | Non-EnergyStar | $0.55 | $0.36 | $0.91 | $0.58 | 64% |
| Energy Star | $0.34 | $0.23 | $0.57 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.22 | $0.11 | $0.33 | |||
| San Francisco | Non-EnergyStar | $0.41 | $0.64 | $1.05 | $0.69 | 65% |
| Energy Star | $0.26 | $0.41 | $0.66 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.16 | $0.20 | $0.36 | |||
| Seattle | Non-EnergyStar | $0.27 | $0.81 | $1.08 | $0.72 | 66% |
| Energy Star | $0.17 | $0.51 | $0.68 | |||
| Most Efficient | $0.11 | $0.26 | $0.36 |
One Comment on "Which Costs More: A Load of Laundry or a Cup of Coffee?"
BillT on Thu, 21st Mar 2013 3:21 am
Hmm. My laundry is done monthly. It consists of an amount equal to one load in the Us. About 7 kilos or 14 pounds. (I do not work so I have a smaller amount of clothes to wash, including linens, etc.) At P35/kilo, my laundry costs about $6 per month or say, less than $100 per year for wash, dry and fold. And they pick up and deliver to my door.
Back in Philly, when I was working, I did my own laundry at the Laundromat and it always cost me about $10, plus soap, plus gas, plus my time, every two weeks. At least double to triple my current costs. And I had to do it myself.
See why I am in the Philippines? ^_^