A dishwasher’s electric cost is mostly heat: the element that boosts wash temperature and the one that dries. The pump is modest. A heated-dry cycle is why two similar loads can land far apart on the bill.
Skipping heated dry, using a shorter eco program, and not pre-rinsing under a hot tap (that water is a different card) are the levers. Running a half-empty machine is paying heat for air.
If the home’s water heater is electric, hot fill water is also an electric cost — but it shows up on the water heater, not always on the dishwasher nameplate. Whatt’s dishwasher power card is the machine itself.
Pair this with the dishwasher water card if you want gallons and kWh for the same habit.
At 18.8¢ per kWh, a 1,200-watt heat/dry stretch of 40 minutes is about 0.15. The pump-only minutes are much smaller. That is why “air dry” is a real what-if, not a slogan.
Pre-rinse
Scraping into the machine is cheap. A five-minute hot tap pre-rinse is the kitchen faucet card and often uses more water than the whole cycle.
Related
Usage estimate only — not a utility bill, load calc, or advice.