How much do your electrical items cost to run? – National Energy Action advice leaflet

Last updated October 2024

We at National Energy Action have produced a series of advice leaflets to help you with your energy bills. This one looks at the home appliances that use the most electricity including your kettle, washing machine and vacuum cleaner. It also explains how to calculate the running costs of your appliances. 

Understanding which items in your home use the most electricity could help you save money. The amount it costs to run electrical appliances depends on three things:

This leaflet is a rough guide on comparing costs for appliances over one hour, helping you to see the ones that use the most electricity so you may be able to adjust how you use them. If you are still struggling call National Energy Action’s Energy Advice and Support Service on 0800 304 7159 or go to www.nea.org.uk/get-help.

Think smart

Smart meters have an in-home display, which can help you keep track of how much energy your appliances use. See our leaflet or go to www.nea.org.uk/resources.

Kilo what?

So what is a kilowatt? The power rating for electrical appliances is measured in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW). A kilowatt is 1000 watts. If a 1 kW appliance (like this fan heater) runs for 1 hour it will use 1 kWh (kilowatt hour) of electricity. Units of electricity are measured in kWh and counted through our electricity meters. The price for a unit of electricity is shown in pence per kWh and that’s what energy suppliers use to bill us. On a prepayment meter (PPM/top-up meter) your credit will run down with each kWh used.

Energy price cap

The energy price cap ISN’T a cap on how much you’ll pay for the energy you use. It’s a cap on the maximum suppliers can charge us per unit of energy. It’s changed every three months by Ofgem, the energy industry regulator. You can find your current electricity unit price on your energy bill or by contacting your supplier. By law they must provide you with this information. If you have a prepayment meter (PPM) you won’t get an energy bill often, so contact your supplier or use websites such as Ofgem, MSE or Citizens Advice energy comparison for up-to-date info. An energy advice agency may also be able to help with this.

Work out the running costs of your appliances

By understanding the power rating, the electricity unit rate of your supplier and using the following simple formula, you can see how much your appliances cost to run.

Appliance running cost (p/hr) = Power rating (W) x Electricity unit rate (p/kWh) ÷ 1000

If you want to work out the cost per minute, just divide the result by 60!

Of course, some items will only be on for a few minutes and some several hours so the actual costs will vary. Due to that price cap changing regularly and differences between makes and models, the age of appliances and because things like heaters, cookers, washing machines and tumble dryers use different amounts of energy while they run, it can be tricky to give exact costs. A higher rating doesn’t always mean higher cost. E.g. your kettle might have a high rating but you likely won’t turn it on for an hour! Choosing energy efficient electrical items can help. A is the most efficient. Look out for ratings labels (right).

The table shows average costs of using appliances. Use it to see where you could make savings.

Washing machines and tumble dryers typically use different amounts of energy throughout the cycle. While ECO settings may take longer to wash a load, they usually use cooler water. So you save money on heating it up.

We’ve costed out the approximate cost per cycle, rather than per hour, below.

Top energy saving tips

There may be ways you can make small changes to the way you use your energy, helping to bring down your costs:

• Make sure to turn lights off when you leave a room. Leaving one standard 60W light bulb on all day (12 hours) could cost you 19.7p per day* that’s £72 per year – for just one light bulb.
• Switch to a low energy LED bulb. These can use up to 90%** less electricity than a standard incandescent bulb while providing the same level of lighting (and they don’t need replacing as often).
• When replacing appliances, consider energy efficient models, which may be A-rated.
• Use a cooler wash setting to do your laundry, washing at 30 degrees can save as much as 40% compared to washing at higher temperatures** If you’re just freshening up clothes, then a cold wash would save you even more.
• The latest heat pump tumble driers use considerably less electricity than older vented models or even better dry clothes outside or on an airer for free!
• Electric showers are one of the biggest energy guzzlers – set a timer to three minutes.
• Towel dry hair to reduce how long you use a hairdryer.
• Cooking in a microwave is cheaper than an oven as it uses less power and takes less time to cook.
• A slow cooker is also energy efficient, running on low power, but may take several hours to cook – try batch cooking to make the most of the energy you’re using.
• Unplug or switch off devices at the wall around the home, and only charge phones for as long as is necessary – items plugged in (even on standby) still draw electricity, which could rack up if you have a lot of items plugged in.
• Immersion heaters should only be switched on at the times when you need hot water and switched off when no longer in use – leaving one on is like leaving the kettle boiling constantly.
• Understanding your heating controls can help you use your system more efficiently. If you have electric storage heaters take a look at our Getting the most from Economy 7 fact sheet.
• A third of our heat is lost through the roof – insulating your loft space can save as much as £215 per year** on energy bills.
• Take a look at https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency to find out if you might be eligible for grants to help with improving the efficiency of your home.
• Put draft excluders around draughty doors and windows, or for a fraction of the cost you can use dry rice in a pair of tights to cover any gaps at the bottom of doors.

*Based on average unit rates under October 2023 price cap **Information sourced from Energy Saving Trust www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-at-home/

If you are finding it difficult to meet the costs of your energy, other support is available, too

Check if you are entitled to your supplier’s Warm Home Discount rebate. It gives £150 off your electricity bill. Go to https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme.

Typically suppliers will open their schemes around late summer/autumn but some suppliers allow you to pre-register so worth checking with your supplier as soon as possible if you might be eligible.

Millions of pounds of welfare benefits go unclaimed every year. If you are on a low income it’s worth doing a quick benefit check at www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators. It should only take 10 minutes. Talk to your local authority to see whether you might can get help from their Household Support Fund.

There may be crisis support grants you can access. Take a look on grants-search.turn2us.org.uk.
If you are living in vulnerable circumstances, have a health condition or children under five – you should register for your supplier’s Priority Services Register.

For more helpful guides take a look at www.nea.org.uk/advice-support/information-leaflets/

If you want to understand what your appliances are costing you, you might want to think about getting a smart meter – the handy in-home display can help you see what your energy is costing in pounds and pence so you can see where you might be able to save on any wastage.

To find out more talk to your supplier or take a look at smartenergygb.org for more information

Find out more at www.ofgem.gov.uk/getting-extra-help-priority-services-register