At Savzz, we help UK shoppers find working discount codes across hundreds of retailers, from home appliances and kitchen products to bedding, garden, and beyond. Energy bills are one of the biggest household expenses most people feel they have little control over. The truth is, most people have far more control than they realise. They just do not know where the money is going.
That is why we built the Savzz UK Energy Appliance Running Cost Calculator. It shows you the exact daily, weekly, monthly, and annual cost of every major appliance in your home, including what your devices are costing you while they are switched off but still plugged in.
Enter your actual unit rate, mark anything you do not own, toggle solar if you have panels, and see your real numbers instantly.
Why Most People Have No Idea What Their Appliances Cost
Ask most people how much their tumble dryer costs to run and they will have no idea. Ask them how much their Sky box costs while they are asleep and the answer is almost always nothing. Both answers are wrong.
The average UK household spends between £1,200 and £2,000 per year on electricity. Most of that goes on appliances running in ways people do not think about. The tumble dryer running three times a week costs around £150 to £200 per year depending on your tariff. The Sky box sitting on standby costs around £25 to £30 per year doing absolutely nothing. Neither of those feels like a large number until you add them all up across every appliance in every room.
The calculator below does exactly that. It brings every appliance into one place so you can see the full picture, not just your total bill.
Who Is This Calculator For?
This tool is useful for anyone who pays an electricity bill, but it is especially helpful if you are:
- Trying to reduce your energy bills and want to know which appliances to target first rather than guessing
- Comparing energy tariffs and want to understand how a change in unit rate affects your actual annual spend across specific appliances
- A homeowner with solar panels who wants to see how much you are saving by running appliances during daylight hours and which ones to prioritise for daytime use
- Moving into a new home and want to estimate running costs before committing to certain appliances or tariffs
- A landlord or letting agent wanting to give tenants a realistic sense of running costs for a furnished property
- Someone switching to an EV and wanting to understand the true cost of home charging alongside existing household electricity use
- Anyone curious about standby costs and what devices left plugged in are silently adding to your bill every year
Who Is This Calculator Not Suitable For?
The calculator gives realistic estimates based on typical wattages and UK unit rates, but it has limits. It may not be right for you if:
- You are on a gas tariff for heating and cooking. This calculator covers electricity only. If your oven, hob, or boiler runs on gas, those costs are not included here. Gas appliances require a separate calculation using your gas unit rate.
- You need a precise figure for a legal or commercial purpose. This is a planning tool using typical wattage values. Actual consumption varies by appliance age, model, usage pattern, and condition. For precise figures, use a plug-in energy monitor on each appliance.
- You are on Economy 7 or a time-of-use tariff. The calculator uses a single unit rate. If you are on Economy 7 or Octopus Agile where rates change by time of day, your actual costs will differ depending on when you run each appliance.
- Your appliances are significantly older or newer than average. Wattage defaults are based on modern mid-range appliances. A fifteen-year-old fridge may draw significantly more than the default figure. An A-rated dishwasher may draw less. Edit the wattage fields to match your actual appliances for a more accurate result.
How to Use the Savzz Energy Appliance Calculator
The calculator covers 24 appliances across six categories, including kitchen, laundry, bathroom, living room and tech, heating and climate, and EV and large appliances.
For each appliance:
- Check the default wattage and adjust it if you know your appliance’s actual rating. This is usually on a sticker on the back or underside of the appliance, or in the manual.
- Enter how often you use it. For appliances measured in uses per week, also enter how many minutes each use lasts.
- Click Don’t have on anything that does not apply to your home. This removes it from the total instantly without you having to zero out every field manually.
- Toggle I have solar at the top if you have solar panels. This zeroes out the cost of appliances marked as solar friendly, which are those typically used during daylight hours.
- Enter your actual unit rate from your electricity bill. The default is 24p which is the current UK average, but your rate may differ.
Scroll down after the main appliances to the Standby and Plug-In Waste Calculator, which shows what your devices are costing while switched off but still plugged in.
Adjust wattage and usage for each appliance. Click Don't have to exclude anything that does not apply to you.
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Laundry
Bathroom
Living Room and Tech
Heating and Climate
EV and Large Appliances
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Standby and Plug-In Waste Calculator
Most people have no idea how much their devices cost while doing absolutely nothing. Toggle each device below to show whether you switch it off at the plug or leave it on standby. The fridge, freezer, and router are excluded because they genuinely need to stay on.
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Switching off at the plug takes seconds and costs nothing. The annual saving is small per device but adds up significantly across a whole household.
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How Much Do Common UK Appliances Cost to Run?
Here are realistic running costs based on the UK average unit rate of 24p per kWh and typical usage patterns. These match the default figures in the calculator above.
Electric shower (9kW, 8 minutes daily)
One of the most expensive appliances in the home per use. Running daily at 9kW for 8 minutes costs around £0.29 per shower. Over a year that is around £104 for one person. A household of four sharing the same shower usage reaches over £400 per year on the shower alone.
Tumble dryer (2.5kW, 3 cycles per week)
Around £0.60 per cycle at 24p. Three cycles per week adds up to roughly £93 per year. Running it on a solar-generating afternoon where possible effectively brings that cost to zero.
Washing machine (2kW, 5 cycles per week)
Around £0.40 per cycle. Five cycles per week costs around £104 per year. Switching to 30-degree washes reduces energy use by around a third on most machines.
Electric oven (2.2kW, 45 minutes daily)
Around £0.26 per use. Used once a day that is around £96 per year. Using a microwave or air fryer for smaller meals instead of the full oven is one of the most effective kitchen energy swaps.
Kettle (3kW, 5 boils per day)
Each boil costs around £0.06. Five boils daily adds up to around £109 per year. Only filling the kettle with the amount of water you actually need saves a meaningful amount over a year.
Fridge/freezer (150W, always on)
Continuous running at low wattage costs around £315 per year. This is non-negotiable but worth noting, older fridges often draw significantly more than modern A-rated models.
EV home charger (7kW, 3 hours)
Around £5.04 per three-hour charge session. For most EV drivers charging three to four times per week that comes to around £785 to £1,050 per year at home. A smart charger that schedules charging during off-peak hours or solar generation can reduce this significantly.
The Truth About Standby and Plug-In Waste
This is the section of the calculator that surprises people the most. Devices left on standby or plugged in with nothing charging are not free to run. They draw a small but continuous amount of power that adds up significantly across a full year.
The biggest standby offenders in a typical UK home are:
Set-top box or Sky box: 8 watts continuously. Most households leave these on around the clock. At 24p per kWh running at 8 watts for 24 hours costs around £0.046 per day, which is around £16.70 per year, just for the box to sit there showing the time.
Microwave clock display: 3 watts. The microwave uses more electricity sitting idle showing the clock than it uses during a typical 2-minute heating cycle. That clock costs around £6.30 per year.
Printer: 3.5 watts on standby. A printer left plugged in and switched on but not printing draws power continuously. Around £7.35 per year for nothing.
Smart speaker: 2 watts always listening. Alexa, Google Home, and similar devices never truly sleep. Around £4.20 per year per device.
Across a typical household with a full set of these devices all left on standby, the annual waste sits between £55 and £90. The standby calculator below the main appliance section shows you your specific figure and what you would save by switching each device off at the plug.
Switching off at the plug is the easiest and most underused energy saving habit in UK homes. It costs nothing, takes seconds, and the only appliances that genuinely need to stay on are the fridge, freezer, and router.
Solar Panels and Appliance Running Costs
If you have solar panels, when you run your appliances matters as much as which appliances you run.
The calculator includes a solar toggle that marks daytime appliances as free to run when solar is generating. Appliances flagged as solar friendly include the dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge and freezer, laptop, heat pump, air conditioning, hot tub or pool pump, and router.
Running your washing machine and dishwasher between 10am and 3pm on a clear day effectively brings their running cost to zero. Shifting your tumble dryer cycle to midday rather than evening costs you nothing. Over a full year the combined saving from shifting daytime usage to solar generation windows can reach several hundred pounds depending on your system size and usage habits.
The calculator shows your estimated annual solar saving in the hero panel at the top of the results once the solar toggle is on.
Tips for Reducing Your Appliance Running Costs
- Check your actual unit rate before you start. The default of 24p is the UK average but tariffs vary. If you are on a fixed deal or a cheaper green tariff your actual costs could be meaningfully lower. The difference between 20p and 28p per kWh across a full year of appliance use is significant.
- Use the Don’t have button liberally. Air conditioning, hot tub pumps, and EV chargers all have high default costs. If you do not have them, removing them gives you a much more accurate picture of your actual household spend.
- Edit wattages for older appliances. A fridge bought in 2008 may draw 250 to 300 watts rather than the 150-watt default for a modern model. Updating the wattage field for older appliances improves the accuracy of your total significantly.
- Prioritise the tumble dryer for reduction first. It is consistently one of the most expensive appliances to run and the easiest to reduce. Line drying when possible, using a shorter cycle, and running it on a solar afternoon are all impactful.
- Switch devices off at the plug before bed. TV, games console, set-top box, and printer can all be turned off at the socket each night without any consequence. Make it a habit and the annual saving takes care of itself.
- Run the dishwasher and washing machine during the day if you have solar. These two appliances running on solar generation cost you nothing. Shifting them away from evening peak hours also helps if you are on a time-of-use tariff.
The Smarter Way to Save: Calculate First, Then Find a Code
Once you know which appliances are costing the most, the next step is making sure you are not overpaying when it comes time to replace them. Energy efficient appliances cost more upfront but save significantly over their lifetime. Before you buy any new home appliance, search Savzz for discount codes across home appliance retailers, kitchen brands, and household goods stores.
Whether you are replacing a tumble dryer, upgrading to an A-rated dishwasher, or buying a smart plug to make switching off easier, there is a good chance we have a code that will save you something on the purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find my electricity unit rate?
It is on your electricity bill, usually listed as pence per kWh. If you cannot find your bill, log in to your energy supplier’s app or website. The UK average as of 2025 is around 24p per kWh under the Ofgem price cap, but this changes quarterly and your tariff may differ.
Why is my Sky box or set-top box so expensive on standby?
Set-top boxes are among the worst standby offenders in the home because they are designed to receive updates, record scheduled programmes, and stay ready to switch on instantly. This means they never truly power down.
A Sky box draws around 5 to 10 watts continuously regardless of whether you are watching anything. Switching it off at the plug when you go to bed and overnight saves around £15 to £25 per year per box.
Does unplugging devices really make a difference?
Yes, meaningfully when you add it up across the whole home. Individual devices are small, typically a few pounds per year each. But a home with a set-top box, printer, games console, smart speaker, and several chargers all left plugged in can easily rack up £60 to £90 per year in standby waste. Switching them off costs nothing and takes seconds.
How much does an electric shower cost to run?
A 9kW electric shower running for 8 minutes costs around 29p per shower at 24p per kWh. For a household of four each showering daily that comes to around £424 per year on the shower alone. Reducing shower time by two minutes per person saves around £106 per year for a family of four.
Does a heat pump really save money compared to electric heating?
Generally yes, significantly. A heat pump produces around 3 to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity it uses, compared to a direct electric heater which produces exactly 1 unit of heat per unit of electricity.
The running cost difference over a heating season is substantial. The calculator defaults both to their wattage draw for comparison purposes. Edit the hours to reflect your actual heating use for both.
How accurate are the default wattage values?
They are based on typical mid-range modern UK appliances. Actual wattage varies by brand, model, age, and usage pattern. For the most accurate result, check the wattage label on the back of each appliance and update the fields accordingly.
Energy monitors that plug into the socket and display real-time wattage are available for under £15 and are the most accurate way to measure your actual appliance consumption.
Who built this calculator?
The Savzz UK Energy Appliance Running Cost Calculator was built by the team at Savzz.co.uk, a UK discount code and money-saving site. We built it because energy costs are one of the biggest household expenses and most people have no clear picture of where the money is going at the appliance level.
The standby waste section, solar toggle, and Don’t have button are all features we added because no other energy calculator has them. It is completely free to use with no sign-up required.
