How Much Gas Does A Dryer Use?
Over the past few days, I have been running some tests on the various dryers at my stores. The question that came up was, How much does it actually cost to run a dryer? We all know how much we charge based on the amount of minutes per quarter or cycle but are we really making a profit?
After some thought, I figured I would determine the amount of time the gas valve is actually on and then do a bunch of math to figure out how much it costs per cycle.
In my previous Post, Dryer Gas Use Testing- The Equipment, I showed you the Timer that I had bought that could connect to any of the valves.
Here is the video that explains the setup and the results.
Some of the background information.
The outside temperature was about 58 degrees and overcast.
I used the site https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=45&t=8 to determine the conversions between the various unit measurements of gas.
The cost came from the December 2016 Gas Bill from one of my stores.
100’s of Cubic Feet : 522
1 ft3 = 1000 BTU’s
Cost: $605.61
Cost Per 100 Cubic Feet $1.61
Cost Per Therm $1.12
$ per Ccf divided by 1.032 = $ per therm
Although I didn’t use therms anywhere in the final results it is a common unit that gas is charged to the consumer. It’s a good number to calculate and understand when talking to owners around the country.
Here are the results:
Now there are some that may read this and say that we should only be charging $0.25 for a dry. But as business owners we realize that there are a lot of overhead costs involved and gas is just a piece of the puzzle. Power, repairs, equipment depreciation all add to the final customer price.
There were a few things that surprised me a little, I expected the empty dryer cost to be higher then the full dryer as the air/heat would be blowing right through but after the test and thinking about it I realized that the wet clothes absorb a lot of heat and it takes awhile to get the temperature up to where the burner turns off.
So no more complaints about people running a dryer with only a couple of items in it.
And next time a salesman tells you that you can pay part of the loan for your new dryers with the utility savings ask them to show you the numbers that prove it.
Hope this helps.
If you have a chance take a look at the Resources Page and see if there are any items that will help you with your business. If there is something missing please let me know. That’s how I keep this part of the business going.
Ken
