Whirlpool H186AA56(3B)
802 kWh a year DOE CCD (opens in a new tab) (the U.S. Department of Energy’s Compliance Certification Database) · 2026-10-25with an electric water heater and an electric dryer
IMEF 1.84 filed efficiency; the yearly figure is computed from it
A front-loading washer of standard size (1.6 cubic feet or more). Drum: 5 cubic feet.
Label numbers this filing covers (1)
The model number on your rating plate may be any of these; each is filed under this one listing.
- WFW8620H**
If you are checking the Whirlpool H186AA56(3B) (WFW8620H**), it uses 802 kWh a year with an electric water heater and an electric dryer, at DOE's test use. It uses 6,932 gallons of water a year at that use. Its IMEF, the cubic feet of laundry washed per kilowatt-hour, dryer included, is 1.84, exactly the federal minimum for its class.
Energy and water per year
802 kWh a year with an electric water heater and an electric dryer
Computed by this site from the registry's IMEF and drum capacity at DOE's test use of 295 cycles a year. IMEF counts the washer, heating its water electrically, and the electric dryer's work on what the spin leaves wet — so this is the total for that kind of home. How it is calculated
Not published: The washer's own share, without the dryer
DOE's database files IMEF, which folds the dryer in; only ENERGY STAR splits the machine out, and it lists this model under no matching rating.
The total above, and the IMEF it comes from, stand as filed.
Not published: A home with a gas water heater, a gas dryer or line drying
DOE's rating assumes electric water heating and an electric dryer and files no split between the machine, the water heating and the drying.
Such a home uses less electricity than the total above; how much less, no registry says for this model.
6,933 gallons of water a year
Computed from the registry's IWF and drum capacity at the same 295 cycles a year.
Not published: What the water costs
water and sewer rates are set by thousands of local utilities and no free national source publishes them.
The gallons above are the figure to multiply by your own water and sewer rate.
This model is rated exactly at the federal minimum IMEF for its class, like many others; no rank is claimed inside that tie.
What you can do. Federal minimum means this model uses as much energy as the law allows for its class. 323 washers in the same class file a higher IMEF; at the same drum size and use, a higher IMEF is less energy a year. See the most efficient washers in each class
DOE CCD (opens in a new tab) · 2026-10-25What it costs to run where you live
See what the middle washer of each product class costs to run on your rate.
What the registry files
From DOE CCD · 2026-10-25
- IMEF (Integrated Modified Energy Factor) how many cubic feet of drum a washer cleans for each kilowatt-hour, counting the machine, heating the water and drying what the spin leaves wet
- 1.84 Compared only with other front-loading, standard size washers.
- IWF (Integrated Water Factor) how many gallons of water a washer uses per cycle for each cubic foot of drum
- 4.7
- Clothes container capacity the volume of the drum in cubic feet, as DOE's test measures it
- 5 ft³
- Federal minimum IMEF for this class
- 1.84
Installed cost and service life
Not published: Installed cost range
NLR REMDB's cost model needs the washer's own yearly energy use, which only ENERGY STAR files — and it lists no matching rating for this model.
Ask retailers or installers for a written quote that names this model number. The yearly energy, water and running cost on this page do not depend on it.
Service life: DOE’s cost database assumes 11 years for front-loading washers. That is a class assumption, not this model’s rating or a warranty — no registry publishes either.
NLR REMDB v4.0.0 · 2026-09-29Safety record
No CPSC recall names this model.
Checked against the CPSC recall database. CPSC does not publish a model-level match for this product category, so this list is curated by hand from the manufacturer's recall filings.
CPSC · 2026-09-29What these figures mean
Where the hot water in this figure comes from
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Water heaters
The other big user of hot water in a home, with every model on file.
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What a water heater costs to run
Prices a water heater’s efficiency against your own utility’s tariff.
Closest in its class
- Whirlpool H186AA54(3B) 802 kWh a year
- Whirlpool H186AA55(3B) 802 kWh a year
- Whirlpool H186AA57(3B) 802 kWh a year
- Whirlpool H18vA750(3B) 689 kWh a year
Keep going
How every figure on this page is calculated
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Front-load washers ranked by filed efficiency (IMEF)
Ranked by filed IMEF inside each class, recalled models left out.
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Most energy-efficient clothes washers
Ranked by filed IMEF inside each class, recalled models left out.
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Top load vs front load washing machine
The filed IMEF, yearly energy, water, drum size and installed-cost range of every standard-size top-loading and front-loading washer, side by side from the DOE registry.
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How much water and electricity does a washing machine use?
The yearly gallons and kWh of every residential washer on file, by product class with the full spread, plus the exact per-cycle figures, and the watts no registry files declared as a gap.
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Every Whirlpool washer on file
What the brand files, by product class.
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Every clothes washer on file
All four product classes, from the DOE registry.
The 802 kWh figure covers more than the washer itself. This site computed it, not the registry, from the IMEF and the model's capacity, the drum's volume in cubic feet, which is 5 cubic feet here. The calculation uses DOE's test use of cycles per year, not any household's own use. The DOE CCD data were retrieved 2026-10-25. IMEF folds the dryer's energy in, so the total assumes an electric water heater and an electric dryer. A machine-only figure is not available for this model. DOE's database files only IMEF, and ENERGY STAR, the one source that splits the machine out, lists no matching rating for H186AA56(3B). The share used by the washer alone is therefore unknown. The steps are set out in how the yearly energy and water figures are calculated.
Read the rest
The 6,932 gallons a year comes from the model's IWF, the gallons of water used per cycle for each cubic foot of drum, which is 4.7. This site multiplied it by the 5 cubic foot capacity at the same test use. A household that runs fewer or more loads will use a different amount, and that amount is not in the data. The water cost is not stated on this page. No free national source publishes local water and sewer rates, so any cost figure would be an estimate. A plumber or homeowner checking a bill needs the local utility's water and sewer rate to price this volume.
In the DOE registry, the Whirlpool H186AA56(3B) is compared with the 360 models registered as front-loading, standard size. Their median IMEF is 2.76, against 1.84 for this model. A higher IMEF means more laundry washed per kilowatt-hour, so this model's rating sits below the class median. It is rated exactly at the federal minimum IMEF for its class, and 37 models in the class sit at that minimum. No rank is claimed inside that tie. The running cost is not written here because it depends on the reader's own electricity tariff. The page computes it from the reader's ZIP code, using the 802 kWh figure. Other front-loading models are listed on the clothes washer model pages.