What appliances use the most energy? This blog has the answers, including what they use and how to reduce it.
With the cost of energy skyrocketing, many appliances are the main culprits of your high energy bills that you may not even be aware of. A good way of remembering what uses the most electricity is that anything that heats up or has several moving parts will require more energy resulting in higher costs.
What’s a Watt, and what uses them?
A Watt is a way of energy measurement. It measures the rate of energy transfer to operate a device over a period of time. The higher the wattage, the more energy it requires to operate. Every device and appliance will be measured using watts.
What uses the most energy?
Domestic appliances will tend to be the highest consumer of energy and the highest cost of running. The table below shows the average energy usage of your standard home appliances.
Appliance (with average power rating) | Cost per hour | Cost per 10 mins |
Freezer (150 W) | 5p | N/A |
Fridge (150 W) | 5p | N/A |
Fridge-freezer (300 W) | 10p | N/A |
Grill (1500 W) | 51p | 9p |
Microwave (1000 W) | 34p | 6p |
Oven (2100 W) | 71p | N/A |
Tumble Dryer (2500 W) | 85p | 14p |
Washing machine (2100 W) | 71p | N/A |
As this table shows, a tumble dryer is by far the costliest to run. At an average of 85p per hour, a standard wash can cost as much as £2.50 a time. There are factors involved that can determine the extent of the cost, and that is its energy rating. Your oven and washing machine follow this. These appliances are often used daily, so it may be harder to control the amount of energy you use. Simple things that can be done are not using a tumble dryer on a sunny day. Over a year, this can potentially save hundreds of pounds, but let’s face it, in the UK, you may be lucky to save £10 with the weather here.
Your fridge, freezer or Fridge Freezer is also a high-energy drainer, as they cost an average of £2.50 a day to run, which is £17.50 a week. Surprisingly high when you look at it this way. The microwave and grill also consume a lot of energy for the length of time they are generally used, but all domestic appliances are required in our everyday lives. Most appliances come with an energy rating, which can help save money.
What is an appliance energy rating?
The average power rating is all well and good, but what does my appliance energy rating mean? All appliances are tested through rigorous methods to determine how efficient they are. Depending on how they perform will determine what energy rating they will be given. Energy ratings range from A to G, A being the best and G being terrible. Specified A – G ratings have only been used for the past 3 years, and an older scale uses A+++ to G+++. They have the same principle where A+++ is now just A, making it a lot simpler for the consumer. For a more in-depth breakdown, check out the Energy Saving Trust article about energy labels. The better the rating, the more efficient the appliance will be and the more money you save.
So how much money can I save with an A-rated product? In April 2022, the annual price for using A, B and C-rated appliances was approximately £1500. Using a D-rated appliance annually was close to £2000, and a G-rated appliance would be a whopping £4,500. Evidence that getting more energy-efficient appliances will save money.
Due to inflation and the cost of energy in the UK in 2023, the cost of running appliances has increased incredibly. An A, B or C-rated appliance could now cost £4,250 a year. A D-rated appliance could cost around £5,386 annually, and a G-rated appliance will cost close to £13,000 annually. There is no better time to consider purchasing more A-Rated appliances to help reduce energy usage and costs.
How much energy do other household devices use?
Day-to-day gadgets and devices are just part of our everyday lives, and we use them as and when required. The table below shows a breakdown of how much these devices cost to run.
Appliance (with average power rating) | Cost per hour | Cost per 10 mins |
Internet router (10 W) | 1p | N/A |
Dehumidifier (500 W) | 17p | N/A |
Desktop computer (140 W) | 5p | 1p |
Electric heater (2500 W) | 85p | 14p |
Electric mower (1000 W) | 34p | 6p |
Electric shower (9000 W) | £3 | 51p |
Extractor fan (20 W) | 1p | N/A |
Games console (120 W) | 4p | 1p |
Hairdryer (2000 W) | N/A | 11p |
Heating blanket (150 W) | 5p | 1p |
Hob (2000 W) | 61p | 10p |
Immersion heater (3000 W) | £1 | N/A |
Iron (1500 W) | 51p | 9p |
Kettle (3000 W) | N/A | 17p |
Laptop (50 W) | 2p | N/A |
LCD TV (120 W) | 4p | 1p |
Oil-filled radiator (2000 W) | 68p | 11p |
Toaster (1000 W) | N/A | 6p |
Towel rail (450 W) | 15p | N/A |
Tumble Dryer (2500 W) | 85p | 14p |
TV streaming device (40 W) | 1p | N/A |
Vacuum cleaner (900 W) | 31p | 5p |
What is a Smart meter?
A smart meter has two main foundations. The meter uses a network to securely automate your meter reading to your supplier at least once a month. This process eliminates the need to provide meter readings and helps maintain accurate energy consumption, in turn providing precise billing. Secondly, the display unit lets you see your energy usage over a day, week, or month. Seeing this can help motivate you to save energy by simply turning devices off, as you can physically see the cost implication of keeping them on.
What are the benefits of having a smart meter?
As said above, the benefits of a smart meter help keep accurate readings and your bills as accurate as possible. It also provides a prompt to save energy as you can physically see what you consume. This means you will only have to pay for the exact amount you use rather than going by estimates.
A key benefit to a smart meter is understanding when energy tariffs are at their highest. Knowing this will help you use specific devices at a time that will save you money and prevent pressure on the national grid. For example, most people use their energy between 4pm – 9pm simply because they are home from work or school and use multiple devices. As the energy demand is at its highest, it costs more because the energy grid must produce and supply more to households. For example, putting your washing machine on 5pm could cost you a lot more than setting it for 2am when most are in bed, and little energy consumption is used. These are the tips a smart meter can help you to determine.
How do I get a smart meter?
All UK energy providers have their independent plans, so it is advised that you contact your supplier to enquire about a smart meter. If eligible, they typically send an engineer out to set up the meter, which may take up to 90 mins. Once all set up, the installer with provide a demonstration to ensure you are comfortable with how to use the device and how to read it.
The best part is that you will not be charged anything for doing so. There are no upfront costs for the device. However, what may happen is that your supplier carries out an energy inspection which could have a charge but will be recuperated through your energy bills. The amount this will be all depends on your supplier, so it is advised that you ask them beforehand.
Can I get a smart meter on a prepayment meter?
Yes. Your energy provider will offer you a smart meter even if you are on a prepayment meter. The set up differs slightly from those on a credit plan, but the user interface will be the same. If you are vulnerable or on a low income, then there is a code of practice to ensure that you are covered and protected and get the same treatment as another customer.
How much does it cost to run a gas boiler?
Your gas boiler is one of the most forgotten home appliances. They are often out of sight and are only thought about if broken. They do, however, contribute highly to your energy bills. They require higher energy consumption to run and heat your home and therefore have a high energy consumption rate.
Typically, most households are connected and use mains gas for their heating needs. There are other methods to heat your home. The second most common is oil; then LPG is liquid petroleum gas.
The cost of running a gas central heating depends on the boiler type and will be determined by manufacture, model, size, water flow and type. Running a gas central heating system costs approximately 12p per kWh (kilowatt hour). With the addition of running mains gas, a standard 24kw boiler will cost around £2.70 to run per hour. A 35kW mains boiler would cost about £3.80 per hour as it requires more energy and has a higher wattage that requires more energy to run.
Running a boiler on LPG can typically cost a little less initially to run at approximately 11p per kWh. However, the overall expense is higher than gas at approximately £3 for 1 hour run time. The additional cost comes with tank rentals. They often come with a yearly charge of about £65 for one above-ground. Underground tanks can be as high as £140, with their installation costing about £1,500.
To ensure your energy bills remain as low as possible, it is essential that you maintain, service, and potentially upgrade your boiler to ensure you are saving overall. Buying a new boiler is often quite expensive, but it will quickly start to pay for itself. Within a few years of purchase and running cost, an A-rated boiler can save up to £800 a year compared to a G-rated boiler.
