Appliances In The Home – Energy Use & Running Costs
These days all electrical appliances come with an Energy Rating Label, usually on the packaging and sometimes on the appliance itself. The label should show key pieces of information that can help you when making a purchase, including the appliances energy rating and how much electricity it needs to work. This enables you to compare the energy usage of similar sized appliances which in turn tells you which appliance costs more to run.
Energy Rating Label Example
The amount of electricity that an appliance needs to work is measured in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW) and 1000W = 1kW. How long an appliance is switched on for determines the total amount of electricity it uses and this is measured in Kilowatt Hours (kWh).
As with energy performance certificates, energy labels use a rating system from A to G with A being the best performing – most energy efficient and G being the worst performing – least energy efficient. As manufacturers strive to produce more energy efficient appliances, so the rating system has expanded with the addition of the + symbol, so now as well as A rated appliances there are A+, A++ and even A+++ rated appliances.
Please note: Some labels only show the rating range from A to D.
The example label shows a Fridge Freezer with an energy rating of A++ and an annual power usage of 270kWh (kilowatt hours). The label also shows the size in litres of separate fridge and freezer compartments, in this example 150 litres and 50 litres and the noise emissions measured in decibels. The example shows 40 decibels and most fridge freezers noise emissions range from 37 to 42 decibels.
There are lots of fridge freezers on the market, some more expensive than others. Using the label to first compare the physical size, i.e. the litre size of the fridge and freezer compartments, you would then expect the energy rating – A+ , A++ etc – to be the same but they are not always. Choosing the higher rating might mean choosing the fridge that uses more power which will cost more to run. Or, it could well be that the higher rated one uses less energy to run… Confused?
At the end of the day if the energy rating and energy usage are similar then they should perform similarly and the difference in running costs may be negligible. The table below shows example running costs over a year of a variety of appliances.
Which Appliance Cost More To Run?
Whichever appliance you are using, it is worth paying attention to its energy use as you could easily save money by choosing a more efficient appliance and you could also save money by using power hungry appliances less frequently and for a shorter time.
Some appliances use a lot more electricity than others and some are switched on all of the time whereas some are used sporadically. For example a tumble dryer requires a lot more electricity than a fridge freezer, but a fridge freezer is on all of the time and a tumble dryer might only be used for a couple of hours a week.
A good way of saving money is to use appliances that you need to and don’t use appliances where there is a very low cost alternative. A fridge freezer is an essential household appliance whereas a tumble dryer isn’t. It may take longer to dry your clothes on a clothes horse or washing line but there are no running costs.
There has been a lot of research in recent years regarding domestic energy use by government, local authorities, watchdogs and energy suppliers with a view to understanding how we use energy and how improvements can be made. The UK government has signed up to making significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions – 34% reduction by 2020, 50% by the mid-2020s and 80% by 2050. Over 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions come from domestic energy use so this is an area that really needs some attention. Understanding how we use energy in our homes and what we can do to reduce the amount we use is essential.
The table below shows the approx. Average Annual Energy Consumption of selected household appliances based on recent surveys and Average Annual Cost of running these appliances based on the current unit price of electricity from Ovo Energy – 16 pence per unit (March 2018).
Please Note: Electrical appliances energy use varies between models and obviously how long the appliance is used for has a big impact. For example an A++ rated 8kg heat pump tumble dryer uses approx 230kWh per year whereas a C rated 8kg tumble dryer will use 585kWh per year and these figures are based on an average use of a few hours per week. The properties surveyed used a wide variety of different appliances and their usage varied from house to house so these really are average results, but they are a good indication of the differences between appliances.
For advice of how to make some easy changes and save some money, see our Quick Wins page.
The average running costs below do NOT include standby costs (when an appliance is not being used and is sitting in standby).
| Appliance | Average Annual Energy Consumption (kWh) | Average Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| One 60 watt old style Light Bulb - 2 hours per day | 44 kWh | £7.04 |
| Equivalent wattage Halogen bulb - 2 hours per day | 31 kWh | £4.96 |
| Equivalent wattage LED bulb - 2 hours per day | 6 kWh | £0.96 |
| 32-inch LED TV - 8 hours per day | 100 kWh | £16.00 |
| 42-inch LED TV - 8 hours per day | 160 kWh | £25.60 |
| 70-inch LED TV - 8 hours per day | 300 kWh | £48.00 |
| Fridge - always on | 162 kWh | £25.92 |
| Fridge Freezer - always on | 427 kWh | £68.32 |
| Upright Freezer - always on | 327 kWh | £52.32 |
| Chest Freezer - always on | 362 kWh | £57.92 |
| Oven (without hob) - average use | 317 kWh | £50.72 |
| Hob - average use | 226 kWh | £36.16 |
| Microwave - average use | 56 kWh | £8.96 |
| Electric Kettle - average use | 167 kWh | £26.72 |
| Tumble Dryer - average use | 394 kWh | £63.04 |
| Dishwasher - average use | 294 kWh | £47.04 |
| Fan - average use | 46 kWh | £7.36 |
| Hair Dryer - average use | 20 kWh | £3.20 |