How Much Electricity Does My Appliance Use? From Fans to Slow Cookers
With the average cost of electricity hitting extraordinarily high figures, you may be wondering which of your appliances consume the most energy. We've gathered data on some common appliances to give you an idea of the biggest offenders in your home, so you know what to prioritize turning off. While actual energy use depends on the make and model of your appliances, as well factors like usage times and even temperature conditions, use these figures to get an idea of the cost of running your house.
How Much Electricity Do These Common Household Appliances Use?
We've gathered energy consumption data on common household appliances in order to calculate how much energy they use. Since appliances vary in their energy needs, we've provided a range from low to high energy consumption in order to capture the energy needs of most UK appliances.
| Watts (~energy per hour) | Typical Usage | kWh (per typical use) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | High | Low | High | ||
| Tumble dryer | 1300 | 2300 | 1 cycle | 1.30 | 2.30 |
| Dehumidifier | 250 | 700 | 4 hours | 1.00 | 2.80 |
| Washing machine | 600 | 1000 | 1 cycle | 0.60 | 1.00 |
| Fridge-freezer | 23 | 45 | Per year | 0.55 | 1.08 |
| Oven | 500 | 1000 | 1 hour | 0.50 | 1.00 |
| Slow cooker | 70 | 250 | 6 hours | 0.42 | 1.50 |
| Air fryer | 900 | 2000 | 20 minutes | 0.27 | 0.60 |
| Leaving a light on (one 60 watt bulb) | 60 | 6 hours | 0.36 | ||
| Electric Blanket | 60 | 200 | 8 hours | 0.48 | 1.60 |
| Computer | 80 | 200 | 2 hours | 0.16 | 0.40 |
| Fan (tower) | 40 | 100 | 8 hours | 0.32 | 0.80 |
| Iron | 1000 | 1800 | 30 minutes | 0.50 | 0.90 |
| Portable air conditioner | 700 | 1350 | 3 hours | 2.10 | 4.05 |
| Leaving a light on (one led bulb) | 6 | 6 hours | 0.04 | ||
| Laptop | 20 | 65 | 2 hours | 0.04 | 0.13 |
| 100 fairy lights/xmas lights - led | 7 | 6 hours | 0.04 | ||
| 100 fairy lights/xmas lights - incandescant | 41 | 6 hours | 0.25 | ||
| TV - on | 115 | 4 hours | 0.46 | ||
| TV - standby | 0.6 | 20 hours | 0.01 | ||
| TV box | 12 | 30 | All day | 0.29 | 0.72 |
How Much Does it Cost to Run Domestic Appliances (October - December 2023)?
We used the electricity consumption numbers above to estimate the cost of running our set of common household appliances per day or use (e.g., 24 hours for a fridge, one cycle for a washer, etc.) and also per year. Your electricity bills for these appliances may be higher or lower, depending on how frequently you use them. Also, some appliances are more energy efficient than others. Our calculations use an average cost of electricity of 27p per kWh, which is based on the price cap from October - December 2023.
| Cost per Use | Frequency | Estimated Cost Per Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | High | Low | High | ||
| Tumble dryer | £0.35 | £0.62 | One cycle per day | £128 | £227 |
| Dehumidifier | £0.27 | £0.76 | 4 hours each day | £99 | £276 |
| Washing machine | £0.16 | £0.27 | One cycle per day | £59 | £99 |
| Fridge-freezer | £0.15 | £0.29 | 24 hours each day | £54 | £106 |
| Oven | £0.14 | £0.27 | 1 hour each day | £49 | £99 |
| Slow cooker | £0.11 | £0.41 | 6 hours, 3 days per week | £18 | £63 |
| Air fryer | £0.07 | £0.16 | 20 minutes per day | £27 | £59 |
| Leaving a light on (one 60 watt incandesent bulb) | £0.10 | 6 hrs/day, 365 days/year | £35 | ||
| Electric Blanket | £0.13 | £0.43 | 8 hours, 180 days per year | £23 | £78 |
| Computer | £0.04 | £0.11 | 2 hours each day | £16 | £39 |
| Fan (tower) | £0.09 | £0.22 | 8 hours, 180 days per year | £16 | £39 |
| Iron | £0.14 | £0.24 | Twice per week | £14 | £25 |
| Portable air conditioner | £0.57 | £1.09 | 3 hrs/day, 20 days/year | £11 | £22 |
| Leaving a light on (one led bulb) | £0.01 | 6 hrs/day, 365 days/year | £4 | ||
| Laptop | £0.01 | £0.04 | 2 hours each day | £4 | £13 |
| 100 fairy lights/xmas lights - led | £0.01 | 6 hours, 90 days per year | £1 | ||
| 100 fairy lights/xmas lights - incandescant | £0.07 | 6 hours, 90 days per year | £6 | ||
| TV - on | £0.12 | 4 hours each day | £45 | ||
| TV - standby | £0.00 | 20 hours each day | £1 | ||
| TV box | £0.08 | £0.19 | All day every day | £28 | £71 |
How Much Does it Cost to Run Domestic Appliances (January - March 2024)?
And here are the figures reflecting the new price cap for January to March 2024, reflecting an average 28.6p/kWh cost of electricity:
| Cost per Use | Frequency | Estimated Cost Per Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | High | Low | High | ||
| Tumble dryer | £0.37 | £0.66 | One cycle per day | £136 | £240 |
| Dehumidifier | £0.29 | £0.80 | 4 hours each day | £104 | £292 |
| Washing machine | £0.17 | £0.29 | One cycle per day | £63 | £104 |
| Fridge-freezer | £0.16 | £0.31 | 24 hours each day | £58 | £113 |
| Oven | £0.14 | £0.29 | 1 hour each day | £52 | £104 |
| Slow cooker | £0.12 | £0.43 | 6 hours, 3 days per week | £19 | £67 |
| Air fryer | £0.08 | £0.17 | 20 minutes per day | £28 | £63 |
| Leaving a light on (one 60 watt incandesent bulb) | £0.10 | 6 hrs/day, 365 days/year | £38 | ||
| Electric Blanket | £0.14 | £0.46 | 8 hours, 180 days per year | £25 | £82 |
| Computer | £0.05 | £0.11 | 2 hours each day | £17 | £42 |
| Fan (tower) | £0.09 | £0.23 | 8 hours, 180 days per year | £16 | £41 |
| Iron | £0.14 | £0.26 | Twice per week | £15 | £27 |
| Portable air conditioner | £0.60 | £1.16 | 3 hrs/day, 20 days/year | £12 | £23 |
| Leaving a light on (one led bulb) | £0.01 | 6 hrs/day, 365 days/year | £4 | ||
| Laptop | £0.01 | £0.04 | 2 hours each day | £4 | £14 |
| 100 fairy lights/xmas lights - led | £0.01 | 6 hours, 90 days per year | £1 | ||
| 100 fairy lights/xmas lights - incandescant | £0.07 | 6 hours, 90 days per year | £6 | ||
| TV - on | £0.13 | 4 hours each day | £48 | ||
| TV - standby | £0.00 | 20 hours each day | £1 | ||
| TV box £0.08 | £0.21 | All day every day | £30 | £75 | |
How Much Electricity Does a PS4 Use?
Adding a PS4 to your household would increase your electricity bills by around £100 per year assuming you play 2 hours per day, depending on the model and how you power down when the system is not in use. The more powerful Pro models cost more to run, as they require more electricity during active gaming. As the systems use much more electricity during active gaming, those who play more will clearly have higher energy bills. To figure out your estimated electricity costs, simply adjust the numbers according to your play time (e.g., by playing 1 hour per day on average, your active gaming electricity charges would be half that of the numbers, for instance).