Household appliance running-cost examples
Worked electricity-cost examples for 15 household appliances. Each page exposes watts, runtime, use days and electricity-price sensitivity.
How to compare appliance electricity costs
The appliance examples use different kinds of assumptions because household equipment behaves differently. A kettle or electric shower is largely a high-power, short-duration load. A fridge-freezer runs all day but cycles. A dishwasher or washing machine is better described by energy per cycle. A television or gaming PC depends strongly on hours of use and operating mode.
For that reason, the most useful input is not always the wattage printed on the label. Manufacturer annual-kWh figures, energy-label cycle consumption or a safe real-world measurement can provide a better estimate. The pages below explain the assumption used for each appliance and link to an editable calculator.
Focus on annual energy, not just watts
A 3 kW appliance used for a few minutes can cost less over a year than a 100 W device left on for many hours every day. Annual kWh combines both power and time, which makes it the better figure for comparing household impact. When considering a replacement appliance, compare the expected annual energy saving with the actual purchase-price difference rather than assuming lower power automatically means a fast payback.