Find out what any appliance costs to run per hour, day, week, month, and year at the current Ofgem electricity rate of 26.32p/kWh.
| Appliance | Typical wattage | Cost per hour (26.32p/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Electric shower (8.5kW) | 8,500W | £2.24 |
| Kettle (per boil, ~3 mins) | 3,000W | ~4p per boil |
| Tumble dryer | 2,500W | 66p |
| Fan heater | 2,000W | 53p |
| Air fryer | 1,500W | 39p |
| Oil-filled radiator | 1,500W | 39p |
| TV (55 inch) | 100W | 2.6p |
| Laptop | 50W | 1.3p |
| Phone charger | 10W | 0.26p |
Every electrical appliance sold in the UK has a wattage rating. Look for a sticker on the back or underside; it'll show something like "2000W" or "2kW" (they mean the same thing). You can also check the manual or search the model number online. Some appliances, like fridge-freezers, cycle on and off throughout the day. Their label shows peak wattage, but actual average consumption is lower. A fridge-freezer rated at 150W typically uses about 1.2 kWh over 24 hours, not the 3.6 kWh you'd get from 150W running non-stop.
A kilowatt-hour is the standard unit your energy supplier charges you for. One kWh means using 1,000 watts of power for one hour. A 2,000W heater running for 30 minutes uses 1 kWh. A 100W TV running for 10 hours also uses 1 kWh. Both cost you 26.32p at the current rate. The formula you need is: watts divided by 1,000, multiplied by hours, multiplied by the price per kWh. So a 2,500W tumble dryer running for 2 hours costs 2.5 x 2 x 26.32p = £1.32 per cycle.
If you're on an Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariff, you get cheaper electricity overnight (typically midnight to 7am). Off-peak rates can be as low as 12p/kWh, while peak rates rise to around 30p/kWh. That makes a big difference for appliances you can time-shift. Running your washing machine at 2am instead of 2pm could cut the cost from 63p per cycle to 25p per cycle. Dishwashers, tumble dryers, and immersion heaters are all good candidates for off-peak scheduling.
Run appliances during off-peak hours if you're on Economy 7. Set your washing machine to 30°C instead of 40°C; this uses about 40% less electricity per cycle. Use eco modes on dishwashers and washing machines (they run longer but at lower temperatures, using less energy overall). Check appliance energy ratings when buying new: an A-rated fridge-freezer uses around 100 kWh per year, while an F-rated one uses 400 kWh or more. That's a £79 annual difference at current rates.
Consider swapping your tumble dryer for a heated airer. A tumble dryer costs roughly £190 per year if you run it 4 times a week. A 300W heated airer doing the same job costs about £41 per year. And if you can air-dry in summer, you'll save even more. Small appliance swaps add up to hundreds of pounds over a year.