Appliance Running Cost Calculator UK
Example rate: 26.32p/kWh — the Ofgem price-cap average, 1 October to 31 December 2026. The watts are typical values for a modern appliance, not a measurement of your exact model.
Model: kWh per use = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours per use; cost = kWh × unit rate. A year is 52 weeks. Fridges run 24 hours a day, so for a fridge set hours per use to 24 and uses per week to 7 — or just read the table below.
What each appliance costs to run (at 26.32p/kWh)
| Appliance | Typical watts | One hour | Typical yearly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fridge | 150 W | £0.04 | £14.41 (runs 1 hour in every 24 at full power, averaged)* |
| Washing machine | 500 W | £0.13 | £48.03 (1 hour a day) |
| Tumble dryer | 2,500 W | £0.66 | £102.65 (3 hours a week) |
| Kettle | 3,000 W | £0.79 | £28.82 (two 3-minute boils a day) |
| TV (LED, 55 inch) | 100 W | £0.03 | £38.43 (4 hours a day) |
| Electric oven | 2,000 W | £0.53 | £192.14 (1 hour a day) |
| Dishwasher | 1,800 W | £0.47 | £86.22 (one 1-hour cycle, 3½ times a week) |
| Games console | 150 W | £0.04 | £28.82 (2 hours a day) |
*A fridge does not draw its full rated watts all day. Its compressor cycles on and off, so it averages roughly a tenth of its rated power over 24 hours. The £14.41 figure assumes it effectively runs at full power for about one hour in every 24 — a typical modern fridge-freezer uses roughly 100 to 150 kWh a year, which at 26.32p is £26 to £40 a year. Older or larger American-style models can use twice that.
Why the tumble dryer and the oven dominate
Anything that makes heat is expensive. A tumble dryer and an oven both turn almost all their electricity into heat, and heat takes a lot of energy: 2,000 to 2,500 watts, hour after hour. A washing machine looks cheap at 500 watts, but that is an average — while it heats water it can draw 2,000 watts, which is why a 60°C wash costs far more than a 30°C wash even though both take the same time. A kettle is the most powerful thing in most kitchens at 3,000 watts, but it only runs for three minutes, so each boil is only about 4p. Power matters, but time matters just as much: cost is watts multiplied by hours.
Electronics are cheap by comparison. A modern LED TV at 100 watts costs 3p an hour. A games console at 150 watts costs 4p an hour. A laptop at 60 watts costs under 2p an hour. Even a desktop computer with a monitor, at 200 watts, is only 5p an hour. The things that quietly cost money are the ones that run all day: a fridge-freezer, a router, a TV on standby, an old plasma TV, or a heated towel rail left on. Ten watts running 24 hours a day, every day, uses 87.6 kWh a year — £23.07 at the cap rate. Five such devices cost £115 a year to do nothing at all.
How to read the watts on your own appliance
The rated watts are printed on a label on the back or underside of the appliance, on its plug, or in the manual. For anything with a heating element — kettle, oven, dryer, iron, heater — the rated watts are close to what it actually draws while it is on. For anything with a motor or a compressor — fridge, freezer, washing machine — the rated watts are a maximum, and the average is lower. A washing machine rated at 2,000 watts might average 500 watts over a whole cycle because the heater is only on for part of it. The most accurate way to know is a plug-in energy monitor, which costs about £15 to £20 and measures real use over a week. If you are choosing between two appliances, the energy label is a better guide than the watts: it gives annual kWh, which you can multiply by your unit rate directly.
Five cheap ways to cut appliance running costs
- Dry clothes on a rack when you can. Every dryer load you skip saves 66p. Three loads a week skipped for half the year saves about £51.
- Wash at 30°C. Modern detergents work well at low temperatures, and heating the water is the expensive part of the cycle. A cold wash can use a third of the energy of a 60°C wash.
- Use the oven once, cook twice. An oven costs 53p an hour whether it holds one dish or three. Batch cooking — cooking several meals while it is already hot — spreads that cost.
- Only boil what you need. Filling a kettle to the top for one cup wastes most of the energy. Two careful boils a day instead of four careless ones saves about £14 a year.
- Switch the TV corner off at the wall. A TV, console and set-top box on standby can draw 10 to 20 watts between them, all night, every night — £23 to £46 a year for nothing.
How often should each appliance run?
The cheapest appliance is the one that is off, so it is worth asking how often each thing really needs to run. A washing machine does not need to run every day for a single person — waiting until you have a full load means the same wash costs the same money but cleans twice as many clothes. The same applies to the dishwasher: a full load costs the same as a half load, because the water heating and the cycle are the same either way. A fridge and freezer need to run all the time, but they work harder when they are empty or when the door is left open, so keeping them reasonably full and the door closed matters more than switching them off, which you should never do with food inside.
For the tumble dryer, the question is whether the load needs drying at all. Clothes dried on a rack indoors take longer but cost nothing, and in summer a washing line is free and faster. The oven is similar: it costs 53p an hour whether it holds one tray or three, so cooking two meals at once — tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch — halves the cost per meal. And the kettle is a habit worth checking: most people boil far more water than they need, several times a day. Filling it to the mark for one cup, rather than to the top, saves a few pence each time, which is £10 to £15 a year for a household that makes a lot of tea.
Related: Electricity Cost Calculator · Energy Bill Calculator · Take Home Pay Calculator
Sources: Ofgem, price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (electricity 26.32p/kWh). Appliance watts are typical values for modern appliances, labelled as such; check your appliance label for exact figures. Checked 13 November 2026.