What's It Costing You?
Find out what your appliances actually cost to run. Pop in your electricity rate (it's on your bill) and we'll work out the cost per use and per year. All on your device, nothing saved.
- Tumble dryer£227.50/yr£0.63 per use
- Kettle£18.20/yr£0.05 per use
→Tumble dryer is your most expensive habit here — about £227.50 a year (£0.63 each time).
→Together these appliances cost roughly £245.70 a year to run at your rate.
Wattages are typical examples — check the label or manual for your exact appliance and adjust. Costs use the rate you entered, so they're only as accurate as that figure.
How appliance running costs are worked out
This tool turns your electricity unit rate into the real cost of running everyday appliances — per use and per year. It uses a simple, transparent formula: kilowatt-hours used = (watts ÷ 1000) × (minutes ÷ 60), then cost = kilowatt-hours × your unit rate. Enter the rate from your bill, pick appliances from the typical-wattage presets (and edit them to match yours), and it ranks what's costing you most.
High-heat appliances are almost always the biggest culprits: tumble dryers, electric showers, ovens and kettles draw a lot of power, so even short use adds up. Seeing the yearly figure — for example what a daily tumble-dryer habit actually costs — makes it much easier to decide what's worth changing.
It all runs in your browser with no data saved. Wattages are typical examples, so check the label or manual on your own appliance for an exact figure, and remember the result is only as accurate as the unit rate you enter.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find my electricity unit rate?⌄
It's on your latest energy bill or in your supplier's app, shown in pence per kWh (kilowatt-hour). Use that number for the most accurate result.
Which appliances cost the most to run?⌄
Anything that heats: tumble dryers, electric showers, immersion heaters, ovens and kettles are typically the most expensive, because they use a lot of power. Low-wattage devices like LED TVs cost very little by comparison.
How can I cut my appliance running costs?⌄
Run full loads, use lower temperatures and eco modes, air-dry instead of tumble-drying where you can, only boil the water you need, and avoid leaving high-wattage devices on longer than necessary.
Are the wattage figures exact?⌄
No — they're typical examples you can edit. Your appliance's real wattage is usually printed on a label on the device or in its manual; pop that in for a precise figure.
Does this work for gas appliances?⌄
This calculator is built around electricity (pence per kWh of electricity). Gas is priced differently, so use your electricity rate for electric appliances.