Where the saving comes from
A vented dryer heats air with a resistive element, blows it through the wet clothes, and vents the warm moist air straight outside, every bit of that heat is made once and used once. A heat pump dryer instead recycles its own heat: it extracts the moisture out of the air passing through the drum and reuses the heat left behind, the same trick a reverse-cycle air conditioner or a heat pump hot water system uses to move existing heat rather than manufacture it from scratch. The energyrating.gov.au registration database puts a number on the result: a vented dryer uses a registry-median 5.6 kWh per full load against a heat pump's 2.6 kWh, the heat pump uses 54% less electricity for an identical load. At 4 full loads a week, that's the gap the table below turns into a yearly figure state by state.
What this costs, state by state
The registry median vented and heat pump dryer, run 4 full loads a week, the same worked example our dryer calculator uses, at each state's current reference electricity rate.
| State | Rate | Vented dryer | Heat pump dryer | Yearly saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 32.4¢ | $377 | $175 | $202 |
| Victoria | 29.8¢ | $347 | $161 | $186 |
| Queensland | 31.2¢ | $363 | $169 | $195 |
| South Australia | 38.1¢ | $444 | $206 | $238 |
| Western Australia | 33.6¢ | $391 | $182 | $210 |
| Tasmania | 28.9¢ | $337 | $156 | $180 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 27.4¢ | $319 | $148 | $171 |
| Northern Territory | 31.7¢ | $369 | $171 | $198 |
Reference rates for 2026–27. Your row is highlighted once you set your location.
What it costs to switch, and how fast it pays back
Heat pump dryers cost more to buy, and the gap is real: at the 8kg capacity our registry figures assume, The Good Guys currently lists its cheapest vented dryer at $385 and its cheapest heat pump model at $699, a $314 premium, rising to $1,549 for a premium 8kg heat pump model such as Bosch's, a gap of over $1,150 against the same $385 vented baseline. Against a roughly $196-a-year running-cost saving at four loads a week, the median across the eight states and territories in the table above (more where electricity is dearer, less where it's cheaper, see your own state above), that premium pays for itself in as little as 16 months for the cheapest heat pump model in the fastest-paying-back state, around a year and a half nationally, or up to six years for a premium one. A separate published Australian comparison of named models tells the same story from a different angle: a recommendation guide comparing named models puts an LG heat pump dryer priced at $1,499 at $2,369 to buy and run over ten years, against $3,099–$3,199 for budget vented models priced at $399–$499, the vented dryer's lower sticker price loses to ten years of higher running costs well before the decade is out.
The other factor worth weighing isn't in the running-cost maths at all: a heat pump dryer doesn't need an external vent hole through a wall the way a vented dryer does, useful in an apartment or a laundry with nowhere to vent to. That doesn't tip the maths on its own, but it makes the payback period easier to justify for anyone already leaning heat pump for reasons beyond the power bill.
Common questions
How much does a heat pump dryer save compared to a vented one?
Registry medians put a heat pump dryer at about 2.6 kWh per full load against a vented dryer's 5.6 kWh, roughly 54% less electricity for an identical load. At four full loads a week that's about $196 a year on the median state rate, from $171 in the ACT up to $238 in South Australia.
Is it worth paying more for a premium heat pump model, or is entry-level enough?
Entry-level pays back faster. The cheapest heat pump model carries roughly a $300 premium over the cheapest vented dryer and earns it back in 16 to 22 months on running-cost savings alone, depending on your state; a premium 8kg model like Bosch's carries a $1,150 premium and takes up to six years, longer than some households keep a dryer. Unless a premium model's other features are worth paying for on their own terms, the cheapest heat pump on the market is the better running-cost bet.
Does the payback period change much depending on which state you're in?
Yes, because the running-cost saving does: it ranges from $171 a year in the ACT to $238 in South Australia for the identical machines. That moves the cheapest heat pump model's payback from about 22 months in the ACT to roughly 16 months in South Australia, still well inside any dryer's working life either way.
Sources
Retail prices for vented and heat pump dryers at matching 8kg capacity: The Good Guys, Dryers. Named-model purchase price, running cost and 10-year total cost of ownership comparison (LG heat pump vs Haier and Westinghouse vented): Nestpath, Best Heat Pump Dryer Australia 2026, a buying-guide recommendation piece, not an independent lab study. Appliance energy draw: same energyrating.gov.au registration database (July 2026 snapshot) as our dryer cost per load calculator. Electricity rates: AER Default Market Offer and each state's regulated reference tariff, current for 2026–27. All fetched July 2026.