From dishwashers to tumble dryers, modern homes are full of appliances to make life easier. But convenience comes at a cost, and where we didn't think twice about running costs in the past, the cost of living crisis has made us look at everything with fresh eyes as we try to cut down or energy use.
There are more energy-guzzling machines in the kitchen than any other room in the house, so many families are taking a long, hard look at what they have and how much it's costing them to run. With energy costs at a record high from the beginning of October, you might be wondering which appliances in your home are contributing the most to your monthly bills, and which ones you can cut back on.
According to consumer group Which? one of the worst offenders in your home is likely to be your fridge freezer, which could cost you up to £217 per year to run. The bad news is you're unlikely to want to go without this appliance, but the good news is you can scale down the costs considerably by looking at the model you have and replacing it with a more economical version when the time comes.
Although fridge freezers are not the highest energy users per kWH, the cost comes because they are on 24/7 and Which? warns against turning them off the save energy, as this could compromise the safety of the food inside them.
The worst offenders are the popular American-style fridge freezers, which will set you back around £146 in electricity costs each year on average, but if you choose a particularly energy-hungry model, you could be looking at £217 a year. The average freestanding model Which? tested was £102 a year and there are even bigger savings to be made if you go for integrated, with average running costs of £91 per year. However, the cheapest free-standing model on test cost £49 per year, and the cheapest integrated model was £73, so there are no absolute rules, proving you should always do your research before parting with your cash.
The consumer group recommends looking at your usage and deciding if you really need such a big appliance. "Freestanding and integrated models tend to be smaller and because of this are significantly cheaper to run, costing £102 and £91 a year respectively," it said. "Make sure you buy an appropriately sized appliance for your needs. For example, if there's only two of you in your household there's no need to buy a large American-style fridge freezer. Instead, opt for something smaller that won't require as much energy to run."
But it warned that smaller isn't always better when it comes to running costs. "Smaller isn't always more economical," it said. "If you have a large family and buy too small a washing machine, you'll simply end up running it a lot more often, which works out more expensive long-term than buying a bigger model with capacity for larger loads."
American fridge freezers and free-standing fridge freezers were the second and third most expensive appliances to run in the Which? table of running costs for the most common appliances, collected from product testing.
The full list, with average running costs per year, is:
Tumble dryer (condenser): £170 per year
Fridge freezer (American style): £146 per year
Fridge freezer (freestanding): £102 per year
Dishwasher: £96 per year
Fridge freezer (integrated): £91 per year
Built-in single electric oven: £80 per year
Built-in double electric oven: £77 per year
Washing machine: £77 per year
Tumble dryer (heat pump): £68 per year.
The tests show that condenser tumble dryers are the most expensive appliances to run by quite a margin, costing the average household £170 a year. This is more than twice the amount you can expect to spend if you're the owner of a heat pump model, which will cost you around £68 annually.
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