Home appliances

The highest rated gas and electric ovens are A+++. A pyrolytic function can also be an energy intensive means of cleaning, which can contribute to higher running costs. The energy label is now found on both electric and gas ovens, enabling you to make the most efficient choice for either fuel.

Microwaves often provide a much more energy efficient way of cooking food than in the oven. Unlike ovens, microwaves only heat your food and not the air-space inside.

Almost 8% of our electricity bill is spent running the dishwasher, typically costing between £40 to £80 (35 to 65kgCO2e) a year to run a standard sized dishwasher. However, slimline dishwashers typically cost between £30 to £60 (25 to 50kgCO2e) a year to run.

The most efficient dishwashers on the market have an A rating, and cost around £25 less per year (20kgCO2e) to run than the lowest rated dishwashers that you can buy of the same size, and they use less water.

These are switched on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are some of the longest lasting appliances in our homes, so it’s worth finding energy efficient models. Energy label scales range from A to G, and choosing a higher rated fridge freezer can have a significant impact on your running costs. Choosing a A-rated fridge freezer over a F-rated unit will save you about £580 (610kgCO2e) in energy bills over the 17-year lifetime of the product.

However, as the energy rating is categorised by size, choosing a smaller fridge will use less energy than a larger fridge with the same energy rating, and may even use less than a higher rated one. You can compare the total energy consumption of appliances by looking for their yearly energy consumption in kWh/annum – it’s displayed under the rating scale on the energy label.

Kettles are one of the most used appliances in the kitchen. A UK Government study found nearly three quarters of us admit that we at least occasionally boil the kettle with more water than we’re going to use.

Buying an ECO kettle that only boils the amount of water required can use 20% less energy than a conventional electric kettle, or just avoid overfilling and save yourself £11 a year on your electricity bill (9kgCO2e).

Drying clothes outdoors on a washing line costs nothing and uses no energy, so it is the ideal way to dry your clothes. Indoors on a rack can also be a no-cost, no-energy solution, although you should be mindful of the increase in moisture levels. Keep the room ventilated so that that moisture doesn’t turn into damp.

Tumble dryers use an energy label scale of A+++ to D. Choosing an A+++ rated one over a B-rated could save you around £790 (820kgCO2e) over its 13-year lifetime.

Some have sensors that tell you when your clothes are dry enough, preventing you from wasting energy by over drying your laundry.

Electric heat pump tumble dryers are more efficient as they recycle the heat from the ventilation tube back into the dryer after removing the water vapour from the air.

There are also gas tumble dryers. This type of dryer can be slightly more expensive to install, as it needs a gas connection.

An energy efficient washing machine will save you money on your electricity bill and, if you have a meter, your water bill too. Washing machines use an energy label scale of A to G. Choosing an A-rated washing machine over a D-rated one could save you around £105 (105kgCO2e) over its 11-year lifetime. Try to wash only when you have enough laundry for a full load, and at low temperatures, to maximise your savings.

Laptops typically use 65% less electricity over a year than desktop PCs. Choosing a laptop over a desktop and avoiding leaving the laptop in standby could save up to £35 (30kgCO2e) per year.

Tablets have even lower energy usage – on average, tablets use 70% less power than laptops.

Smart speakers generally cost around £5 (5kgCO2e) per year to run, with most of that cost from running them on standby. It’s worth considering whether you do need them on 24 hours a day.

Digital radios are a popular electronic product. Similar to smart speakers, consider switching them off when you leave the room instead of leaving them on standby.

Televisions can be the most power-hungry of all entertainment equipment, particularly the largest ones. The larger a television screen, the more energy it will consume, regardless of its energy rating. The following table includes examples of annual running costs depending on the size of your TV, as well as the CO2 equivalent saving:

In our cost comparison table, even the most efficient 60” television is still more expensive to run per year against the lowest rated 32” television. By choosing a smaller television, you are generally saving more energy.

LED screens are the most common form of flat-screen TV on the market. LED TVs use an LCD (liquid crystal display) and LEDs provide the backlighting to create the picture.

OLED and QLEDs are similar to LED screens in that they both use an LCD display. The difference with OLED and QLED is that you don’t require backlighting, each pixel lights itself. Both types boast very high performance in picture quality; however, currently these do come at a premium.

Power consumption is mostly dependent on level of brightness and hours of use. After selecting the smallest TV still suitable, the best ways to save energy are to reduce brightness settings to your lowest acceptable limit and remember to switch off your TV when not in use. Many TVs incorporate features to do this automatically, such as light sensors to detect the room’s brightness and adjust the screen accordingly, and sleep timers to switch off the TV after a number of hours of no interaction.

Plasma TV production ended in 2015. And since 2014, lamp lit LCDs (as opposed to LED lit) are in very limited production. Both of these TVs use more power than the LEDs discussed above.