A washer-dryer costs around £80.54 to £198.45 a year to run on the EU label basis, used for a full wash-and-dry cycle - about 5.73x more than using the same machine for a wash only.
Based on 13 real models we hold energy figures for (rated between 5.0kg and 12.0kg wash capacity). Checked directly, not assumed: rating correlates with the wash-and-dry cost at 0.94 across this sample; wash capacity correlates at only -0.36.
| Wash capacity | Rating (wash) | Annual cost (wash only) | Rating (wash & dry) | Annual cost (wash & dry) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest (wash & dry) | 9.0kg | A | £25.79/year | A | £80.54/year |
| Most expensive (wash & dry) | 10.0kg | A | £18.42/year | E | £198.45/year |
| Average | — | — | £24.78/year | — | £142.05/year |
These figures are each model's own EU energy-label rating, built on the current regulation's own basis of 200 cycles a year (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2014) for both the wash-only and the wash-and-dry test. Figures are at today's Ofgem price cap rate of 26.32p per kWh (effective 2026-10-01 to 2026-12-31).
Sorted cheapest to run (wash & dry) first by each model's own EU label figure. Models with a live EPREL registration link straight to it. Model numbers are each product's own energy-label registration code - manufacturers don't always use the same name shown in shops.
| Manufacturer | Model | Wash cap. | W&D cap. | Rating (wash) | Rating (W&D) | Cost (wash) | Cost (W&D) | Ratio | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Electronics | WHX9096TLC | 9.0kg | 6.0kg | A | A | £25.79 | £80.54 Cheapest | 3.1x | EPREL |
| LG Electronics | HPWD116BA | 11.0kg | 6.0kg | A | A | £19.48 | £80.54 | 4.1x | EPREL |
| LG Electronics | LSWD100X | 12.0kg | 7.0kg | A | A | £28.95 | £100.02 | 3.5x | EPREL |
| FAR | WD8514AA26W | 8.0kg | 5.0kg | A | D | £22.64 | £138.44 | 6.1x | EPREL |
| Haier | HWD80-BP14367TU1 | 8.0kg | 5.0kg | A | D | £17.37 | £140.02 | 8.1x | EPREL |
| HISENSE | WD5I9043BWFS | 9.0kg | 5.0kg | A | D | £23.16 | £140.02 | 6.0x | EPREL |
| Candy | BWR 495SBL10UC-S | 9.0kg | 5.0kg | A | D | £16.84 | £140.02 | 8.3x | EPREL |
| SIGNATURE | SLFS106ADB | 10.0kg | 6.0kg | A | D | £26.85 | £161.60 | 6.0x | EPREL |
| AEG | LWT697PX6P 914922397 | 10.5kg | 6.0kg | A | D | £27.37 | £161.60 | 5.9x | EPREL |
| LG Electronics | W4WX8596Y | 9.0kg | 6.0kg | A | D | £18.42 | £162.13 | 8.8x | EPREL |
| Hoover | H3D 485TE/1-80 | 8.0kg | 5.0kg | D | E | £38.43 | £171.61 | 4.5x | EPREL |
| LG Electronics | F854M21WR | 8.0kg | 5.0kg | D | E | £38.43 | £171.61 | 4.5x | EPREL |
| RTS | RAC-F10470KBY-W | 10.0kg | 6.0kg | A | E | £18.42 | £198.45 Most expensive | 10.8x | EPREL |
No account needed. Adjust the figures below for your own machine and usage - the defaults are the wash-and-dry EU label basis above, the realistic cost of using it as a combo machine.
Switching some of these cycles to wash-only and air-drying is the single biggest change you can make to this number - see "can I just use it to wash?" above. Want a full breakdown across your whole home? Try the free calculator.
You can just use it to wash - and it is the single biggest saving on this page, costing nothing but hanging the washing up afterwards. Across the 13 machines we hold figures for, a wash-only cycle averages £24.78 a year against £142.05 for a full wash-and-dry cycle - 5.73x more, ranging 3.12x to 10.77x depending on the model. The time cost moves to the washing line, not the machine: every model in this sample finishes a wash-only cycle in under 4.0 hours.
Usually, yes - but how much more depends entirely on which dryer you compare against, so we show both rather than picking the more flattering one. A separate washing machine (£31.59) and conventional tumble dryer (£81.99) together cost about £113.58 - roughly 1.25x what our washer-dryer sample averages for a wash-and-dry cycle (£142.05), about a quarter more. Against a heat pump dryer instead (£26.75 with the same washing machine), the separate total drops to about £58.34 - 2.43x, more than double. Which? found the same pattern independently: washer-dryers cost £216 a year on average to run, against £64 for a washing machine and £139 for a condenser tumble dryer bought separately (or £54 for a heat pump dryer) - "it's often more energy-efficient to use a separate washing machine and tumble dryer, particularly if you have a heat pump tumble dryer, than a washer dryer".
Because the EU energy label tests a washer-dryer twice - once for a wash-only eco 40-60 cycle, once for the full wash-and-dry cycle - and rates each separately. 10 of the 13 machines we hold figures for rate better for washing alone than for washing and drying combined; the rest rate the same both ways. The biggest gap in our sample: RTS RAC-F10470KBY-W, rated A for washing and E for washing and drying combined on the same physical machine. No buying guide we could find explains this; the energy label itself does, if you know to look for both figures.
Considerably longer than washing alone. Across our sample, a wash-only cycle takes 218-240 minutes; a full wash-and-dry cycle takes 420-630 minutes - roughly 1.8 to 2.9 times as long, on top of costing 3.12-10.77x more.
No, on this evidence. Checked directly, not assumed: the energy rating correlates with the wash-and-dry running cost at 0.94 across our sample; wash capacity correlates at only -0.36 - weak, and slightly negative, meaning bigger machines in this sample trend a little cheaper, not more expensive. Same pattern as our washing machine and dishwasher pages: the rating is what to check, not the capacity number.
On the EU label basis, a typical wash-only cycle among the models we hold figures for costs around £0.12; a full wash-and-dry cycle costs around £0.71. Those are each model's own test-cycle figures - switching to wash-only and air-drying is the single change most likely to move this number, see the question above.
Some models in the table have a live registration with the EU's EPREL energy-label database - those link straight to their EPREL page. Every figure - wash-only and wash-and-dry alike - is a real, named model's own test-cycle rating, both published on the same EU energy label. We only show models rated between 5.0kg and 12.0kg wash capacity, a deliberate line excluding portable machines rather than fitted to what happens to be in our data today.
Label figures above are sourced from the EU's EPREL product registry. WatchYourWatts is not affiliated with or endorsed by EPREL or the European Commission. The separate-machines comparison above is cited directly to its own source (Which?), alongside our own figures - not derived from one another. Electricity price: 26.32p/kWh, the Ofgem price cap for 2026-10-01 to 2026-12-31.
