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Which home appliances use the most energy?

When we look to lower our energy bills, most of us turn down our heating and try to remember to switch off lights. But our homes are filled with dozens of other energy-hungry devices, from kitchen white goods to electronic gadgets, which have their own impact on our bills.

1. Refrigerator/freezer

Fridges and freezers have a relatively low energy demand, with a typical combination unit in the UK drawing between 200 and 500W. However, to keep our food and beverages at safe temperatures, they remain plugged in 24/7. They may only be drawing power and actively cooling for 8-10 hours a day, but that’s significantly longer than any other appliance, adding hugely to their energy debt.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, the typical fridge-freezer is responsible for around 13% of a household’s annual energy bill. But not all fridge-freezers are created equally. A-rated units can use as little as 40% of the electricity that a fridge-freezer of the same profile but with an F energy rating does. By our calculations, the typical A-rated fridge-freezer costs just £30 per year to run, while a similar F-rated unit costs £74 annually.

American-style fridge freezers, with side-by-side units, are also significantly more energy-hungry. The most efficient American-style units are C-rated, with an approximate annual running cost of £61 per year.

Fridge-freezers' constant usage makes them an appliance well worth replacing if yours is outdated. Modern units are significantly more efficient than those produced just five or ten years ago.

To further reduce your fridge-freezer’s energy use:

  • Keep your fridge-freezer well maintained, including cleaning dust off the coils in the back every 3-6 months and removing ice build-up.

  • Avoid leaving the door open too long, which will cause the temperature to rise and force the appliance to use more energy.

  • Don’t set the temperature too low. Fridges should be set between 3°C and 5°C: anything lower will not only increase energy use but can also freeze food and potentially cause glass jars to break. Freezers should be set at -18°C. Lower than this and you may encounter ice buildup and freezer burn, and can even damage the appliance.

  • Try to keep the fridge-freezer fully stocked, as more items contribute to insulation, reducing the loss of cold air. If you haven’t done a shop in a while and your shelves are bare, try filling the space with bottles of water.

2. Tumble dryer

Tumble dryers use a lot of energy to produce heat, spin the drum, and then dispose of excess moisture. A typical vented dryer uses 5.34 kWh per full load cycle, which costs £1.44 at current electricity prices. A standard condenser dryer uses 5.2 kWh per cycle, costing £1.41. The typical UK household uses its tumble dryer twice per week, pushing annual costs to nearly £150!

With those costs, it’s little wonder that tumble dryers were some of the first appliances Britons unplugged during the energy crisis in 2021-23. Research from Churchill Home Insurance found that 38% of UK households started using their tumble dryer less in 2022, with 7% ditching it altogether.

Fortunately, the dryer has a cheap, low-tech alternative: the drying rack or clothesline. Even using a heated drying rack in the winter is significantly cheaper than a tumble dryer: the best run for just 6p per hour and can dry an entire load of laundry in two hours. Air drying is also gentler on your garments, extending their lifespan.

If you still want to occasionally run sheets and towels through the dryer, you can take some simple steps to limit energy usage and costs:

  • Run full loads

    If you’re going to run your tumble dryer, make sure it’s reasonably full - although not overfull - to optimise airflow and tumbling.

  • Use a high spin cycle on your washing machine

    Remove as much water from your clothes and linens as you can before putting them in the dryer. If your washing machine hasn’t spun out enough water, you can manually wring out items.

  • Turn the heat down

    Select "low heat" or "delicate" settings.

  • Clean out the lint filter

    Not only does this increase airflow and drying efficiency, it reduces fire risk.

  • Use dryer balls

    Dryer balls reduce drying times by separating clothes and improving airflow.

You can also consider a heat pump dryer. These new models use up to 50% less energy by recycling damp air. They take longer to dry clothes but a single cycle can cost just 59p.

3. Washing machine

Washing machines are another energy-greedy appliance. Depending on the energy rating of your model and the settings you use, a typical load of laundry can use between 0.3 and 2.0 kWh, costing you anywhere from 8p to 55p.

As the average UK household does around 270 loads of laundry per year, the total energy cost of your clean clothes can really add up. If you’re running standard 40°C washes, you’ll spend anywhere from £58 with an A-rated washing machine to £153 with a G-rated machine.

Beyond upgrading to a more efficient, newer washing machine, there are other ways to trim your bills:

  • Run cooler washes

    For most household fabrics, a 30°C wash is perfectly adequate and uses significantly less energy than a hotter wash. Many washing machines have an "eco wash" pre-set for between 30°C and 40°C. In some cases, you may want to turn the temperature down still lower and run a 20°C cold wash. Cold washes are actually better for many fabrics, including silk, wool, and rayon, preventing shrinking, damage, and colour bleeding and fading. You’ll also want to use cold water when tackling stains from blood and grass, which can be set in by hot water. Try to only run loads over 60°C occasionally, such as with sheets and towels or after someone in the household has been ill.

  • Use quick washes

    When clothes aren’t heavily soiled, you can use your machine’s quick wash setting, which saves energy and time.

  • Pre-treat stains

    Apply stain removers directly to stains and let the garment sit before running it through the laundry. This will prevent you from running a stained garment through the laundry multiple times.

  • Wash clothing less

    While we’re not advising you to re-wear dirty or smelly clothes, many of us are washing garments far more than they need to be for sanitary purposes. Unlike undergarments and gym wear, items like jeans, shirts, and knitwear don’t need to be dumped into the laundry after a single use. In fact, over-washing can shorten their lifespan. Instead, air them out or freshen them up with a garment steamer.

4. Electric showers

Around a third of UK homes have electric showers, which are some of the most energy-thirsty appliances in our homes. Typical models are rated for 10kW. In a typical 8-minute shower, they use 1.33kWh of electricity. That’s around the same amount of electricity that would power an A-rated washing machine for a full wash cycle at 60°C. At current electricity prices, that shower costs 36p.

If each Brit showers an average of six times per week and there’s an average of 2.36 people per UK household, showering could cost your household £265 per year just in electricity, not to mention the water costs.

How do you save money on bathing without sacrificing cleanliness?

  • Take shorter showers

    Limiting household showers to 5 minutes can save you £100 per year. A timer can help you stick to the schedule.

  • Turn off the water when you’re applying soap

    And then turn it back on to rinse.

  • Lower water temperatures

    Cooler showers are not only cheaper but also better for your skin and hair.

5. Ovens

70% of UK homes have electric ovens, another energy-hungry appliance. Typical models consume between 2.5 to 4.5kWh per hour of use, depending on their size, wattage, and set temperature. That hour of cooking adds between 68p and £1.22 to your electricity bill.

Running an oven for three hours a week can cost between £106 and £190 per year.

However, it’s possible to save money on home-cooked meals:

  • Explore batch cooking

    Heat your oven once to make a large dish and then freeze portions for later meals, reheating them in the microwave as needed.

  • Don’t open the door

    It may be tempting to open the oven door to check on your dish, but doing so allows heat to escape, dropping the internal temperature by as much as 25%. The oven will then have to use more energy to restore the desired temperature.

  • Use residual heat

    Provided you don’t open the door, heat escapes from the oven fairly slowly. You can take advantage of this by switching off the oven a few minutes before your timer goes off. The oven will stop using electricity but the remaining heat will continue to cook the dish.

  • Clean your oven

    It’s a pain of a chore, but a clean oven heats up faster and maintains a consistent temperature more easily, reducing energy use.

  • Consider alternative cooking methods

    Air fryers and microwaves use a fraction of the electricity that ovens do, especially when cooking small batches.

6. Dishwasher

Around half of us rely on a dishwasher to do the washing up. Dishwashers typically use between 1.2 to 1.5kWh of electricity per cycle, although this varies depending on the efficiency of the model and the temperature used. That puts the cost of a cycle at between 32p and 41p. Run your dishwasher five times a week and you’re looking at an annual cost of £83 to £107, making your dishwasher one of the costliest white goods in your home.

But here’s the catch: dishwashers are actually more efficient than handwashing, using both less electricity and less water. That’s especially true for larger households with lots of dishes to clean. Dishwashers, especially new models, are remarkably good at conserving water: typical models use 10-14 litres per cycle, while the most efficient can wash dishes with as little as 6-8 litres. In contrast, handwashing a full load of dishes could consume more than 100 litres of water.

Even if you’re handwashing with a washing-up bowl to limit water wastage, you’re still likely using more water than a washing machine. A study by Which? found that a 9-litre washing-up bowl can hold two place settings max. To wash 12 place settings worth of dishes in that bowl - that’s three meals for a four-person household, not counting pots and pans used for food prep - you’d need to refill it six times, using 54 litres of water.

That water doesn’t just contribute to your water bill, it also needs to be heated, adding to your energy costs. With a typical 3kW immersion heater, Which? says you’d spend 15p on energy to heat water for that 9-litre bowl. To do so six times would cost you 90p in energy. The same hand-washing routine every day would cost you £328.50 just in energy.

We can’t avoid washing dishes, as much as your kids might plead. So how do you limit costs with your dishwasher?

  • Only run full loads

    The cost savings of a dishwasher vs handwashing fall when you’re running partial loads. Try to hold off switching it on until you have enough dishes to fill both racks. But be careful not to overfill it. An overly crowded dishwasher means some dishes won’t get properly cleaned.

  • Use eco settings

    Most modern dishwashers have eco or economy cycles, which use lower temperatures and less water but extend the wash cycle so your dishes still come out squeaky clean. By some estimates, eco cycles use up to 30% less energy than standard cycles.

  • Clean dishwasher filters

    Blocked filters impede water flow so a dishwasher has to work harder to complete a cycle.

  • Invest in an energy-efficient model

    The most efficient A-rated dishwashers can use as little as 0.54kWh per cycle, costing 14.5p, while G-rated dishwashers use up to 2kWh per cycle, costing 54p.

7. TVs

According to the Energy Saving Trust, consumer electronics like TVs, laptops, and gaming devices account for around 6% of our electricity bills. Depending on your habits, your TV is likely the biggest energy user out of these but its energy diet is nothing compared to kitchen appliances.

Depending on their type and size, TVs use anywhere between 30 to 3500 watts of electricity per hour. LED TVs are the most energy efficient, followed by LCD TVs, then OLED TVs. Plasma TVs use even more electricity - up to 600W an hour with a 75-inch model - but are so energy-intensive that they’ve largely been phased out.

The average Brit watches around four and a half hours of TV per day. Increasingly, we’re streaming this content on laptops and tablets, but we’ll just assume it’s all viewed on a TV and that the family is all watching together. That puts the energy consumption of your viewing habits at anywhere between 840W and 9.8kWh per week, costing you between 22.7p and £2.65. Average that out over a year and you could be spending between £11.80 and £137.75 on power for your TV.

But did you know your TV could be sipping electricity while you’re not even watching it? Many TVs don’t turn fully off when you use the remote but rather enter standby mode: not displaying an image but still on. While standby mode is fine, even necessary at points - the TV may use it to record scheduled content or download software updates - it can add to your energy use. TVs typically use 0.5 to 3 watts of electricity per hour in standby mode. While this is a tiny amount, it can add up. Over a year, a TV in continuous standby mode can use 4.4kWh to 26.2kWh, costing between £1 and £7. To turn your TV fully off, unplug it from the wall or run it off a power strip with a switch.

Other ways to reduce the power consumption of your TV include:

  • Turn down the brightness

    Many TVs are pre-set far too bright. Manually adjusting the brightness is easier on your eyes and reduces energy use. Some TVs even have ambient light sensors which can adjust the brightness depending on the light in the room.

  • Use a sleep timer

    Does your spouse have a habit of falling asleep in front of the TV and leaving it on all night long? A timer can switch off the screen after a certain period of inactivity.

  • Use the energy-saving mode

    Some TVs have settings which allow you to automatically use less energy, although you might sacrifice some picture quality.

8. Electric kettles

Your daily cuppa - or the UK average of 2.7 cuppas - could be adding too much to your energy bill.

Kettles are quite energy intensive: while a typical TV has a power rating of between 100 watts, kettles are rated between 2 and 3 kilowatts, 20 to 30 times more. Fortunately, kettles are on just briefly, although their energy use in those few minutes you’re waiting for them to boil can add up.

Most kettles on the market are rated for 3kW. They can boil a single cup of water in 45 seconds, costing less than 1p. However, filling it to the line - usually 1.7 litres - can push those costs to 5p. Bring your kettle to a boil a typical four times per day and you could be spending between £14.60 and £73 in electricity per year.

As you can see, overfilling your kettle can be costly. Try to only boil the amount of water you need (above the minimum level) and avoid wasting electricity on water you’ll simply leave behind to cool.

9. Irons

Your clothes iron is another energy-greedy small appliance that is fortunately used just briefly. They have power ratings between 800 to 2000 watts, with 1100W being typical. That means the typical iron uses 1.1kWh of electricity, or around 30 pence worth, per hour of use.

Ironing is the household chore Brits most hate, according to a 2017 YouGov poll, so fortunately most of us finish in 10 to 20 minutes, limiting our pain and our costs to 5 to 10p. Another survey, conducted by London Cleaning System, found that each household spends around 61 minutes per week on ironing, equating to annual costs of a whopping £157. That’s almost enough to make you embrace wrinkly clothes.

How do you save money while still looking smart?

  • Use a hand-held steamer

    Clothes steamers use less electricity than irons. They may not produce the crisp edges you want for a dress shirt but are gentler on delicate fabrics.

  • Iron clothes when slightly damp

    Ironing is quicker and requires less heat when clothes are slightly damp, which is easy when you’re hanging them up to dry and not using an energy-hungry tumble dryer.

  • Dry clothes outdoors

    Line drying clothes outdoors, especially in the sunlight and with good air circulation, can reduce wrinkles. Clothes dried outside also have that fresh smell that detergents try to replicate.

10.Hair dryers

Blow drying your hair is another sneakily energy-intensive home habit. Hair dryers are high wattage, using between 1,000 to 2,400 watts, with the professional-grade models producing at least 1,800 watts. If you spend 15 minutes running one of these 1,800W hair dryers, you’ll spend 45p on electricity. Do that every day over a year and your costs will total £44. If you’re prone to splurging on professional styling at a dry bar, where prices of around £45 are typical, you might think this is a deal. But it still makes hair dryers one of the biggest energy sucks among our small appliances.

To save money while still getting that glossy smooth look:

  • Use low heat settings

    Lower temperatures mean less energy use and are gentler on your hair.

  • Towel dry hair first

    Before switching on your hair dryer, wring as much water out of wet hair with a towel, ideally with a microfibre towel, which produces less friction and doesn’t damage hair.

Appliance

Energy use per hour or cycle

Cost per hour or cycle

Hours or cycles per week

Energy used per year

Yearly energy cost

Refrigerator/freezer

A-rated: 0.013kWh per hour

F-rated: 0.032kWh per hour

A-rated: 0.34p

F-rated: 0.85p

168 hours

A-rated: 111kWh

F-rated: 276kWh

A-rated: £30

F-rated: £74.25

Tumble dryer

Vented dryer: 5.34 kWh per cycle

Condenser dryer: 5.2 kWh per cycle

Vented dryer: £1.44 per cycle

Condenser dryer: £1.41 per cycle

2 cycles per week

Vented dryer: 555kWh

Condenser dryer: 541kWh

Vented dryer: £149.76

Condenser dryer: £146.64

Washing machine

 40°C washes

A-rated machine: 0.8KWh

G-rated machine: 2.1KWh

A-rated: 21.6p

G-rated: 56.85p

5 per week, 270 per year

A-rated: 216kWh

G-rated: 567kWh

A-rated: £58.38

G-rated: £153.26

Electric shower

10kWh model

1.33kWh per 8-minute shower

36p per 8-minute shower

113 minutes for a typical household

979kWh

£264.70

Electric oven

2.5kWh-4.5kWh per hour

68p-£1.22 per hour

3 hours

390kWh - 702kWh

£106 - £190

Dishwasher

1.2 to 1.5kWh per cycle

32p and 41p per cycle

5 per week

312kWh - 390kWh

£83-£107

TV

30-350w per hour

0.8p-9.5p

28 hours per week

44kWh - 509kWh

£12-£138

Electric kettle

3kWh per hour,

37.5W for a single cup, 187W for 1.7 litres.

1p for a single cup, 5p per for 1.7 litres

28 times per week

54.6kWh - 272kWh

£14.60 and £73

Iron

1.1kWh per hour

30p per hour

61 minutes per week

58.2kWh

£157

Hair dryer

1.8kWh per hour

49p per hour

105 minutes per week with daily use

164kWh

£44

Assuming electricity is 27.03 pence per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh), as set by the energy price cap between April and June 2025.

Resources:

Activity History - Last updated: 22 November 2025, Published date:

Reviewer

Mike Rowe

Energy Expert

Mike is a recognised leader in the UK energy sector with over two decades of experience, having run one of the country's most trusted Ofgem-accredited energy comparison platforms before selling in 2019. Today, he advises EnergyComparison.co.uk and works with businesses on the transition to net zero.

Activity History - Expert Reviewed on 23 November 2025 and last checked on 22 November 2025