Yes — in most cases, a heated clothes airer is cheaper to run than a traditional condenser or vented tumble dryer. At an electricity price of 26.32p per kWh, a typical 300W heated airer costs around 7.9p an hour, or roughly 55p for seven hours — but a modern heat-pump tumble dryer can actually cost less per load.
That last point matters, because the heated clothes airer vs tumble dryer cost comparison isn’t quite as straightforward as the hourly figures make it look.
A heated airer draws relatively little electricity, but it may need to stay switched on for most of the day. A tumble dryer uses far more power while it’s running, but gets the job done much faster.
So which genuinely costs less once you’ve got a basket of wet washing to deal with?
Are heated clothes airers actually cheaper than tumble dryers?
For most households with an older vented or condenser tumble dryer, yes.
Take a fairly typical 300W heated clothes airer. At Ofgem’s electricity unit rate of 26.32p per kWh, applicable from 1 October to 31 December 2026, it costs:
0.3kW × 26.32p = 7.896p per hour
Round that up and you’re looking at around 7.9p an hour.
Run it for seven hours and you’ve spent roughly 55p.
That’s considerably cheaper than the average running cost of a traditional condenser or vented tumble dryer. But if you’ve already got an efficient heat-pump dryer, the numbers suddenly become much closer — and may actually favour the tumble dryer.
The cost breakdown: heated clothes airer vs tumble dryer
The easiest mistake is comparing the hourly cost of the two appliances.
A heated airer will comfortably win that argument. What actually matters is how much electricity you use before the clothes are dry.
How much does a heated clothes airer cost to run?
Many full-size heated airers are rated at around 300W.
Lakeland’s Dry:Soon models, for example, include 300W versions, while Argos sells a three-tier 300W model with 21 metres of drying space and an advertised average full-load drying time of around seven hours.
Using 26.32p per kWh:
| Heated airer running time | Electricity used | Approximate cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | 0.3kWh | 7.9p |
| 4 hours | 1.2kWh | 31.6p |
| 7 hours | 2.1kWh | 55.3p |
| 8 hours | 2.4kWh | 63.2p |
| 10 hours | 3kWh | 79p |
So the often-repeated claim that heated airers cost “pennies to run” is technically true — but slightly misleading.
They’re cheap per hour. Leave one running for ten hours and you’ve still used £0.79 of electricity.
Dry three loads a week at seven hours per load and that’s roughly £86 a year.
There are plenty of variables here. A small load of thin clothes may dry considerably faster. Thick towels, jeans and hoodies can take much longer, particularly in a cold or poorly ventilated room.
How much does a tumble dryer cost to run?
This is where the type of tumble dryer makes a huge difference.
Which? calculates tumble dryer running costs using actual energy consumption from its appliance testing, based on three cotton cupboard-dry loads a week and the same 26.32p per kWh electricity price.
Its latest figures put average annual running costs at roughly:
- Heat pump tumble dryer: £54.32
- Condenser tumble dryer: £138.91
- Vented tumble dryer: £139.74
Spread across three loads a week — 156 loads a year — that works out at approximately 35p per load for a heat-pump dryer, 89p for a condenser dryer and 90p for a vented dryer.
That gives us a much more useful comparison.
| Drying method | Approximate cost per load |
|---|---|
| Heat-pump tumble dryer | 35p |
| 300W heated airer for 7 hours | 55p |
| 300W heated airer for 8 hours | 63p |
| 300W heated airer for 10 hours | 79p |
| Condenser tumble dryer | 89p |
| Vented tumble dryer | 90p |
There’s an obvious surprise here.
A heated airer isn’t automatically the cheapest powered way to dry clothes.
Against an older-style condenser or vented tumble dryer, it wins fairly comfortably. Against a decent heat-pump tumble dryer, the heat-pump machine can be cheaper.
There is a caveat: this isn’t a perfect laboratory-style like-for-like comparison. Heated airers vary in capacity, drying time and power consumption, while tumble dryer costs vary considerably between individual models and programmes.
But it shows why simply comparing appliance wattage doesn’t tell the whole story.
Running time vs drying speed: where the comparison changes
This is the part that gets missed in most heated clothes airer vs tumble dryer cost comparisons.
A heated airer might only pull 300W. That’s tiny compared with the power demanded by some tumble dryers.
But power and energy aren’t the same thing.
Power tells you how quickly an appliance is using electricity. Energy tells you how much electricity it has used in total.
Run a low-powered appliance for long enough and those savings begin to disappear.
Heated airer: cheap by the hour, slow by the load
A heated airer works by gently warming the rails beneath your clothes. That speeds up evaporation compared with an ordinary clothes horse, but there’s no powerful airflow pushing moisture away from the fabric.
Hence the long drying times.
Seven or eight hours isn’t particularly unusual, and heavy items can take longer.
Spacing matters too. Load every rail with overlapping clothes and you’ll restrict airflow, potentially leaving the outer surfaces dry while the bits folded over the bars remain damp.
A cover can help by keeping warm air around the washing. Lakeland, for example, specifically sells covers for its Dry:Soon range designed to retain heat and speed up drying.
Tumble dryer: higher power, much less waiting
The advantage of a tumble dryer isn’t its hourly running cost. It’s speed and controlled airflow.
Clothes are continually moved through warm air rather than sitting relatively still on heated rails.
Modern heat-pump dryers make that process considerably more efficient by recovering and reusing warm air instead of repeatedly heating fresh air and throwing the energy away. Which? currently puts their average annual electricity cost at around £54, compared with roughly £139 for condenser dryers.
That efficiency changes the argument completely.
If you’re comparing a heated airer with an ageing condenser dryer in the garage, the heated airer is likely to save money.
If you’ve already spent £400-£700 on a good heat-pump tumble dryer, running the airer for ten hours purely because you assume it must be cheaper could actually cost you more.
Top 3 hacks to cut the cost of drying clothes
You don’t necessarily need to choose one appliance and stick with it. The cheapest setup often comes from removing as much water as possible first, then using powered drying only where it genuinely helps.
1. Get as much water out in the washing machine as possible
The cheapest water to remove is the water that never reaches your airer or tumble dryer.
Use the highest spin speed that’s suitable for the clothes you’re washing. Less water left in the fabric means less work for whichever appliance dries it afterwards.
Which? recommends using a speedy spin before tumble drying because a washing machine spin costs less than removing the same water through heated drying. The Energy Saving Trust similarly recommends making use of the washing machine’s maximum suitable spin speed to reduce drying time.
It’s particularly useful with towels, bedding, jeans and other items that come out of the drum holding plenty of water.
2. Use a heated airer properly — not like a clothes storage rack
Packing twice as much laundry onto an airer doesn’t mean you’ve dried twice as much washing for the same money.
Clothes need airflow.
Leave gaps where possible, open out sleeves and trouser legs, and avoid placing multiple thick layers over the same heated bar.
If the manufacturer sells a purpose-made cover for your airer, it can also help retain warmth around the clothes rather than allowing it to immediately escape into the room.
There is another consideration: the water has to go somewhere.
Drying laundry indoors releases that moisture into your home. The Energy Saving Trust advises keeping the room ventilated to reduce the risk of condensation turning into damp.
That might mean cracking a window, using existing mechanical ventilation or running a dehumidifier where appropriate.
Don’t save 20p drying a load of washing only to create a mould problem behind the wardrobe.
3. Mix your drying methods
For many households, the cheapest practical answer isn’t heated airer or tumble dryer.
It’s both.
Dry lightweight clothes naturally or on the heated airer and reserve the tumble dryer for towels, bedding and thick items that otherwise spend half a day hanging around the house.
Another option is to air-dry clothes most of the way before giving them a short tumble at the end.
That can be particularly useful for towels, which often feel stiff after line or rack drying. Which? suggests a short tumble to soften partially or fully air-dried laundry rather than automatically running a complete tumble-drying cycle.
And when the British weather plays nicely, switch both appliances off.
A washing line costs exactly 0p per hour.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates that making greater use of outdoor drying instead of a tumble dryer can save a typical household around £50 a year in Great Britain.
The verdict: heated clothes airer vs tumble dryer cost
So, are heated clothes airers actually cheaper than tumble dryers?
Against a vented or condenser tumble dryer, usually yes.
Using an electricity rate of 26.32p per kWh, a typical 300W heated airer running for seven hours costs around 55p. Average vented and condenser tumble dryer costs work out at roughly 90p and 89p per load respectively using current Which? testing data.
Against a heat-pump tumble dryer, however, the answer can flip.
The current average works out at roughly 35p per drying cycle, meaning a good heat-pump dryer can potentially dry a load both faster and for less electricity than running a 300W heated airer all day.
That doesn’t make heated airers a bad buy.
They have a relatively low purchase price, they’re useful in homes without space for a tumble dryer, they’re gentle on clothes and they let you dry laundry without feeding £1 or so into an older tumble dryer every time the washing basket fills up.
Just don’t buy one on the assumption that 8p an hour automatically means 8p per load.
The number that matters is what it costs to get your clothes from wet to dry.
For households with an older condenser or vented machine, a heated airer can make a noticeable dent in winter laundry costs. If you’ve already got an efficient heat-pump tumble dryer, though, checking the actual numbers might save you more than following the conventional wisdom.
