It’s more important than ever to save energy
With the skyrocketing cost of living at its highest level in a decade, budgets are squeezed tight – many households are facing hardships and looking for ways to save energy, and cut down energy bills. We have put together a list of household appliances that use the most electricity and tips on using them efficiently to help you reduce your energy bills and budget better.
| Appliances | Daily usage (minutes) | Cost per week | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shower (electric) | 13 | £3.47 | £181 |
| Gas hob | 22 | £2.57 | £134 |
| Electric hob | 23 | £2.24 | £117 |
| Air conditioning | 23 | £2.30 | £120 |
| Freezer | 1,440 | £1.43 | £74 |
| Shower (gas) | 13 | £1.49 | £77 |
| Kettle | 15 | £1.79 | £93 |
| Tumble dryer | 17 | £1.34 | £69 |
| Plug-in electric heater | 15 | £0.87 | £45 |
| Electric barbeque | 13 | £1.05 | £54 |
| Fridge | 1,440 | £0.86 | £45 |
| Hot tub | 14 | £1.08 | £56 |
| Iron | 7 | £0.74 | £38 |
| Air fryer | 12 | £0.58 | £30 |
| Bath | 10 | £0.61 | £32 |
Energy usage in “wet” appliances
Appliances that need water to function are often the ones that use the most energy. Whether turning the boiler on for a shower, hot tub, or putting the kettle on over the hob, a lot of power is required to heat up water.
Apart from choosing the most energy-efficient appliances with a good energy efficiency score (EPC), optimising the way you do house chores can also help reduce bills in the long run. For example, doing your fully-loaded laundry in the morning with a lower temperature, and airdrying them during the day could save you a lot of energy.
If you really do have to use the dryer, try to do an extra spin in the washing machine to get rid of as much water as possible, before popping y our laundry into the dryer. Cleaning the filter regularly, and untangling your garments before drying will also help air circulate better, and dry more efficiently.
Heating with energy consumption in mind
Another big contributor to our energy bills is kitchen appliances or ones that generate heat. Kettle, iron, and air fryers are some of the most energy-consuming appliances, and unfortunately, ones we cannot avoid using.
However, there are still many ways you can save energy around the kitchen. For example, try using the microwave to heat up food instead of the hob. Microwaves only heat up the food itself so you’re saving a lot of energy by focusing on what really needs to be heated.
How much can I save on my energy bill?
In our calculation, we estimated that the average person would spend 10-13 minutes in the shower. However, if you limit your shower time to no more than 9 minutes per day, you could potentially save £79 a year. Reducing shower/bath time, and airdrying clothes whenever possible instead of using the tumble dryer can reduce your annual energy bill by almost £118.
