The “Saving Electricity” website reports that the average dryer uses 3.3 kilowatt hours of energy and estimates an average of 11 cents per kilowatt hour. A small load of clothes takes about 45 minutes in the dryer, so the cost of that load is $0.36.he dryers in my building just went up to $2.00 for 60 minutes (which doesn’t get a large load fully dry). I use drying racks for 3 out of 4 loads, so I save about $12-16 a month. Plus, my clothes retain their shape and colour so much better.