What things actually cost to run, worked from the current price cap with the sums shown. Change any number to your own: the point of this page is that the honest answer depends on your appliance and your tariff, not on ours.
What does it cost to run?
Change any of these. The rate is the current price cap average, but yours is on your bill and is the one that matters.
Every appliance at today's rate
Typical power for the appliance class, at 26.11p per kWh, the price cap electricity average for 1 July to 30 September 2026. Yearly figures use the usage shown on each page, which you can disagree with and change.
| Appliance | Typical power | Per use | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kettle | 3,000 W | 3.9p | £85.54 |
| Tumble dryer | 2,500 W | 97.9p | £203.66 |
| Washing machine cycles | 2,100 W | 16.4p | £42.77 |
| Dishwasher cycles | 1,800 W | 47.0p | £122.19 |
| Electric oven cycles | 2,500 W | 65.3p | £169.72 |
| Air fryer | 1,500 W | 12.9p | £47.04 |
| Microwave | 900 W | 1.9p | £13.69 |
| Fridge freezer cycles | 200 W | £1.25 | £456.19 |
| Electric heater | 2,000 W | £1.57 | £570.24 |
| Immersion heater | 3,000 W | £1.17 | £427.68 |
| Electric shower | 9,000 W | 30.5p | £111.20 |
| Dehumidifier cycles | 300 W | 62.7p | £228.10 |
| Hot tub cycles | 2,000 W | £3.13 | £1140.48 |
| Television | 100 W | 10.4p | £38.02 |
| Gaming PC | 500 W | 39.2p | £101.83 |
| Electric blanket | 100 W | 2.6p | £9.50 |
| Slow cooker cycles | 250 W | 45.7p | £71.28 |
| Vacuum cleaner | 900 W | 7.8p | £12.10 |
Rates from Ofgem, read 15 September 2026. Appliances marked cycles switch on and off rather than running flat out, so their plate rating overstates the real cost.
The rule that survives every price change
Anything whose job is to make heat is expensive. Everything else is not. Kettles, ovens, tumble dryers, immersion heaters and electric heaters turn electricity directly into heat, and heat costs. A television or a phone charger left on will not move your bill however guilty the advice makes you feel.
That is why the savings that work are all about heat: washing at 30 rather than 40, drying outdoors, filling the kettle only as far as you need, and running the oven once rather than three times in an evening.
Energy figures are worked from the Ofgem price cap on the date shown and from typical power for the appliance class, not from a named model. Your own rate and your own rating plate are the ones that count. Full disclaimer.