The cost of living crisis is putting strain on many households across Ireland, with most people's bills increasing significantly.
A recent cost living survey conducted by the Irish Mirror found that almost eight our of 10 people in Ireland are struggling to pay their monthly bills. 37 per cent of people had seen their monthly energy bill go up by €50 - €100. 35 per cent claim their bills have gone up by €100-€150 and 17 per cent said bills have increased by €150-€200.
With costs increasing, we have found ways to bring down your bills by highlighting the most expensive appliances that are running in your home. Energy experts at Radiators Online have shared the most 'energy draining' appliances and how expensive they are to run, Mirror UK reports.
Read more: The 'vampire devices' that cause electricity bills to spike - and how you can cut down on your bills
Air conditioning and heating
The experts said: “Your HVAC system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) is the biggest consumer of energy in your home. Most HVAC systems run 24 hours a day; therefore, depending on the efficiency of your unit, on average, it may use 72kWh in a day, costing you a staggering £4,967.65 (€5,886) a year and £13.61 (€16.13) every day.
“To save money, invest in a programmable thermostat. If you assumed the energy costs of running a fan are minimal, you’d be right. Consider direct current fans. They use so little energy that operating one at full speed for 24 hours a day would cost between £24.83 (€29.42) and £164.25 (€194.62) a year.”
Water heating
According to the experts, water heaters come next on the list, costing around £828.55 (€981.75) if used daily for a year. This is a huge amount of money to be paying just for water.
If you are someone who has a daily shower, you may want to look at cutting this back to every second day. This one small change could save you hundreds of euro a year.
Fridge
The experts said: “A refrigerator must run 24 hours a day to keep your food fresh. This appliance needs 180 watts per hour to run, which means it requires 4.32 kWh to run for 24 hours. Multiplying this by 365 days at the average price per kWh, we find that your fridge is costing you £299.30 (€354.64) per year.”
Read more: Turn on heating now to save cash this winter, says expert
Dishwasher
Many people use dishwashers for convenience, but they cost a lot to run. It takes around 1800 watts for a dishwasher to run for one hour, and the average washer runs for about two hours.
The experts added: “This means it uses 3.6 kWh per average, costing you about £240.20 (€284.61) if used daily for a year.”
Maybe look for ways to cut down on the dishes. One pot meals for the whole family for dinner is a great way to cut down on the dishes and doing a quick hand wash after your meal will mean less hours running the dishwasher.
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Oven
While the oven is not the most expensive appliance to run, opening and closing the door can be costly. According to the experts, this can affect how much electricity the oven uses.
They added: “We estimated that an oven is used, on average, for about an hour a day. It takes about 2400 watts for an average oven to run. Therefore, it requires 2.4 kWh for one hour of use and costs about £164.25 (€194.62) to use daily for a year.”
Cheapest household appliance to use
A spokesperson for Radiators Online said: “The cheapest household product on our list is the washing machine. This appliance is a widely used Energy Star model and only needs 500 watts per hour to run.
“This is because your washing machine uses more energy heating water than it does doing anything else during a wash cycle. So, washing machines are more energy efficient by using cold water, which most people prefer to use when doing their laundry.
“Hence, if used every day for a year, a washing machine’s electricity costs £18.25 (€21.62).
"Overall, refrain from using your energy-intensive appliances as much as possible, opt for energy star-rated models and consider cheaper alternatives.”
Read next:
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- Save money with new back-to-school website that offers second-hand clothes
- We compared the back to school clothing costs in Dunnes Stores, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Lidl
