CostCandid

Is it actually cheaper to use a dishwasher than to wash dishes by hand? For many U.S. households, a modern efficient dishwasher can use surprisingly little water and energy. But the real cost depends on how you wash dishes, how often you run the dishwasher, your local water and sewer rates, and how much hot water you use at the sink. That means the useful question is not simply whether a dishwasher uses less water. You need to compare water, sewer, electricity, and water-heating costs together. The calculator below lets you do exactly that using your own household numbers. Quick answer: For full loads, a modern efficient dishwasher will often use substantially less water than washing the same dishes under running water by hand. ENERGY STAR says a new certified dishwasher uses less than half as much energy as washing dishes by hand and can save about 8,400 gallons of water per year. But your actual dollar savings depend heavily on your hand-washing habits, hot-wat...

Should you buy a 20-pint, 35-pint, or 50-pint dehumidifier? The obvious answer might seem simple: a smaller dehumidifier uses less electricity, so it must cost less to run. But that is not always how dehumidifiers work in a real home. A smaller unit may draw less power while running, but it may need to run much longer to control humidity in a large or damp space. A larger unit may use more power per hour but reach the target humidity sooner. That means the cheapest dehumidifier to run is not necessarily the one with the lowest wattage. The calculator below lets you compare 20-, 35- and 50-pint size classes using wattage, actual daily runtime, electricity rate, purchase price and years of ownership. Quick answer: For a smaller or moderately damp space, a smaller dehumidifier may provide enough capacity with lower power draw and a lower purchase price. For a larger basement or a space with a heavier moisture load, a higher-capacity dehumidifier may be more economical ...

A regular refrigerator may cost less than a garage-ready model, but purchase price is only part of the decision. If your garage becomes very hot in summer or cold in winter, the more important question is whether the refrigerator is designed to operate under those conditions. That makes this comparison different from a normal appliance cost comparison. The cheapest refrigerator is not necessarily the cheapest usable refrigerator for your garage. Use the calculator below to compare purchase price, electricity cost and long-term ownership cost. Then compare your garage temperatures with the manufacturer-specified operating range for each exact model. Quick answer: A garage-ready refrigerator can be worth the extra cost if your garage regularly gets hotter or colder than the operating conditions allowed for the regular refrigerator you are considering. Some current GE garage-ready refrigerators, for example, are tested to perform from 38°F to 110°F . That does not mean ...

A mini fridge may be small, but it still runs 24 hours a day. That makes electricity cost worth checking before you put one in a dorm room, bedroom, home office or basement. The good news is that many efficient compact refrigerators use relatively little electricity. The catch is that energy consumption can vary substantially from one model to another. The easiest way to estimate the real cost is to use the refrigerator's annual energy consumption in kWh rather than guessing from its wattage. Enter the annual kWh from the EnergyGuide label or product specifications in the calculator below. Quick answer: At the May 2026 U.S. residential average electricity price of 18.44 cents per kWh, a compact refrigerator using 125 kWh per year would cost about $23.05 per year , or roughly $1.92 per month , in electricity. But compact refrigerators vary. Current ENERGY STAR listings include compact models with annual energy use around 106, 124, 125, 145, 150, 195 kWh and higher, ...