Heated clothes airers: how energy-efficient are they?
As energy costs have risen over the last couple of years, customers have become increasingly aware of the energy demands of different home appliances and have taken steps to change their energy habits. One way they’ve been able to do this is by investing in more energy-efficient appliances.
One of the biggest energy-guzzlers is the tumble dryer, which can cost as much as £3 per cycle. Customers who don’t necessarily have the outside space to air-dry their clothes have started turning to heated clothes airers as an alternative. But how energy-efficient are they, and how would using one affect your energy bills?
How do heated clothes airers work?
Heated clothes airers are essentially clothes horses that you plug in to heat up, which then speeds up the clothes drying process. This can be invaluable for homes during winter when temperatures are too low for effective air-drying.
What are the pros and cons of heated airers?
Pros
Gentler on clothes than tumble drying
Uses much less energy and costs much less per cycle than a tumble dryer
Portable (can be used in different rooms if needed)
Provides "free" ambient heat to the room.
Cons
Takes up floor space when drying and storage space when not being used
Requires manual "management" (turning clothes and monitoring their progress)
Risks condensation and mould if there’s no proper ventilation in the room.
How much energy do heated clothes airers use?
The exact amount of energy that heated clothes airers use will vary from model to model.
If the airer's power is 300W, that converts to 0.3 kWh. Using the unit rates for the January-April 2026 price cap (27.69p per kWh of electricity), that means the airer costs 8p per hour to use.
In contrast, a tumble dryer uses ten times as much energy per cycle. At an average of 3 kWh, it would cost 83p every time you use it.
Can using heated clothes airers lead to mould?
Potentially, yes. Moisture will come off the clothes as they dry, which can lead to damp and mould issues over time. It’s important to ensure you’re dealing with the moist air if you’re going to use a heated airer, either by ventilating the room the airer’s in by opening a window so the air can escape, or by using a dehumidifier.
Dehumidifiers do need electricity to run, so this cost should be factored in when you calculate how much you’ll save by using a heated airer over a tumble dryer. However, the average dehumidifier uses 185W (0.185 kWh), which will cost you around 5p an hour in electricity, so it’s still cheaper to combine an airer and dehumidifier than solely using a tumble dryer.
How to increase a heated airer’s efficiency
While a heated airer is already an energy-efficient appliance, as we’ve seen, there are ways that you can increase its efficiency when using it to make sure your clothes dry as quickly as possible.
- Don’t overload the airer, because the clothes that aren't directly touching the appliance will take longer to dry, and could even trap moisture, which results in the clothes developing a musty smell
- Rotate the clothes so different parts touch the heated bars, even if it's just flipping them from front to back.
