How do you calculate dryer energy cost?

Multiply therms by price per therm by the production-scope percent for variable cost, then add fixed service cost. Here 640 therms x $1.15 x 100% = $736 variable, plus $450 fixed, for $1,186 total.

What does production scope charged to dryers mean?

It is the share of dryer energy you are attributing to this batch or account. At 100% the full $736 of variable energy is charged; a 60% scope would assign only $441.60.

Why include a fixed dryer service cost?

Maintenance contracts, lint-system service, and gas-train inspections accrue regardless of run hours. Adding the $450 fixed cost gives a true $1,186 total rather than energy alone.

What is the cost per therm used after fixed costs?

Dividing the $1,186 total by 640 therms gives an effective $1.853 per therm, well above the $1.15 commodity rate because fixed service is spread across the therms.

Variable vs total dryer energy cost, which do I quote?

Quote total cost ($1,186) for budgeting and cost-to-serve; use variable cost ($736) when modeling the marginal effect of running more or fewer dryer hours.

How can I lower dryer energy cost?

Improve press extraction so less water reaches the dryer, add moisture-sensing auto-stop to avoid over-drying, recover exhaust heat, and negotiate a better therm rate or interruptible gas tariff.

Industrial Laundry, Uniform & Textile Rental Operations calculator

Industrial Laundry Dryer Energy Cost Calculator

Dryer energy cost captures the full gas spend to dry a batch of linen or uniforms, combining variable therm consumption with the fixed service charges that ride along with every dryer fleet. Energy and plant managers use it because tumble dryers are the single largest gas load in most laundries, and natural gas price swings hit the P&L hard. The production-scope factor lets you charge only the portion of dryer energy attributable to a specific account or product line. It turns a raw gas bill into an actionable per-batch or per-account cost.

What this calculator does

Estimate dryer energy cost from energy used, utility rate, production scope, and fixed dryer service cost for the period.
Built for production supervisors, maintenance managers, and finance teams reviewing tumble dryer cost after extraction by goods mix or shift.
It computes total dryer energy cost by combining scope-adjusted variable gas spend with a fixed dryer service cost.

Formula used

Variable dryer energy cost = dryer energy used × energy cost per therm × production scope charged to dryers
Total dryer energy cost = variable dryer energy cost + fixed dryer service cost

Inputs explained

Dryer energy used:
Energy cost per therm:
Production scope charged to dryers:
Fixed dryer service cost:

How to use the result

Use it for utility allocation, account-level cost-to-serve, and evaluating gas-price or efficiency changes.
It treats therms as already measured; it does not model moisture-retention swings from press performance that change therms needed per pound.

Current U.S. benchmarks

As of Apr 2026, industrial natural gas averages 4.9 per Mcf across the U.S. (EIA), roughly 0.47 per therm, down 7.7% from a year earlier.
U.S. manufacturing runs at 75.6% of capacity (Federal Reserve, May 2026). New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate dryer energy cost? Multiply therms by price per therm by the production-scope percent for variable cost, then add fixed service cost. Here 640 therms x $1.15 x 100% = $736 variable, plus $450 fixed, for $1,186 total.
What does production scope charged to dryers mean? It is the share of dryer energy you are attributing to this batch or account. At 100% the full $736 of variable energy is charged; a 60% scope would assign only $441.60.
Why include a fixed dryer service cost? Maintenance contracts, lint-system service, and gas-train inspections accrue regardless of run hours. Adding the $450 fixed cost gives a true $1,186 total rather than energy alone.
What is the cost per therm used after fixed costs? Dividing the $1,186 total by 640 therms gives an effective $1.853 per therm, well above the $1.15 commodity rate because fixed service is spread across the therms.
Variable vs total dryer energy cost, which do I quote? Quote total cost ($1,186) for budgeting and cost-to-serve; use variable cost ($736) when modeling the marginal effect of running more or fewer dryer hours.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.