The Best Time Of Day To Do Laundry If You Want To Lower Your Energy Bill

As someone who works from home, I rarely think twice about the timing of my laundry loads. Once the hamper is full or I realize an item is dirty that I’d soon like to wear, I simply stroll over to the washing machine, fill it up with clothing and detergent, and within 90 minutes, I’ve conquered the task. 

But after studying up on the best time of day to run my dishwasher and the best time of day to water my grass, I started to wonder if I should start to be more strategic about my laundry. 

Just like with the latest toy trend every holiday season, energy prices are affected by supply and demand. Most energy companies set their rates using a time-of-use (TOU) structure. This means that the cost of the electricity you use throughout the day will vary based on the overall electricity demand at that time. When more folks are using electricity, it will be more expensive. When electricity use is lower, prices will fall, too.

Since this is the case, the best time to do laundry is outside of peak electricity use hours, verifies Carolyn Holran, press secretary for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“This is usually around the time of day where people have come home from work and are doing activities that constrain the electric supply,” Holran tells Southern Living. “So the best time to do laundry is when overall electricity use is low in your home and community.” 

While it won’t save you enough for splurge on an extra vacation, shifting appliance use — be it a washer, dryer, dishwasher, oven, or otherwise—to off-peak demand hours can have a noticeable impact on electricity rates over time. In many areas, energy companies offer a 40% “discount” on electricity rates during hours that are outside of peak times. Taking into account laundry alone, energy experts estimate that using your washer and dryer during off-peak hours might save you about $25 over the course of a year if you do a few loads per week.

Holran explains that the variance in price is because “during periods of peak demand, utilities may have to ramp up additional generators for a short period of time or buy more expensive energy from the market,” she says. “Those costs eventually get passed on to customers.”

It’s even more incentive to do laundry during off-peak hours in this case, because they’re often cooler parts of the day, too. This can reduce the strain on the electric grid and help prevent the need for involuntary power curtailment or power brownouts, Holran notes. This is because the heat and moisture generated by a washer and dryer (as well as your dishwasher, stove, and oven if you use them) almost always trigger your air conditioner to work harder to combat the extra heat and humidity. 

How to find your local peak energy use times

Now that you know why it’s wise to run your washer and dryer outside of peak hours, let’s dive into when these might be.

"In general, off-peak hours in most parts of the U.S. tend to be late evening through the early morning hours, such as after 9 p.m. and before 7 a.m.,” Holran says.

Admittedly, that’s when most of us are sleeping, so we dove a bit deeper into the data across the country. Turns out, it’s often seasonal. The best times of day to do laundry are usually any time outside of 7 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m., which are usually peak hours for power grid demand.

For a more specific answer in your neck of the woods, Holran suggests contacting your local utility. 

Tips to save money (and use less energy) when doing laundry

Beyond timing things right, Holran tells us the following simple tricks can help slash hundreds of dollars from our energy bills each year:

• Don’t skimp. Clothes dryers vacillate energy use based on how many pieces of apparel they’re drying. Washers, however, “use about the same amount of energy regardless of the size of the load, so run full loads whenever possible,” Holran says. No need to worry about overtaxing your dryer, she adds: “the size of dryer drums is usually larger than washer drums to allow for the clothes to tumble and hot air to circulate.”
• Chill out. ENERGY STAR experts verify that 90% of a washer’s energy use is dedicated to heating the water — if you opt for warm or hot. Holran confirms that “unless you're dealing with oily stains or have laundry that’s been used by sick household members, washing in cold water will generally do a good job of cleaning. Switching your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut energy use in half and using the cold cycle reduces energy use even more.”
• Speed up. If your washer offers different spin speeds, select “high” or “extended,” Holran recommends. This will reduce the amount of time (and energy) required to dry your clothes. 

This article was written by Karla Walsh from Southern Living and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.