Running Cost Guides on CostRunning

Appliance Wattage Table

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Typical figures, with the range you will actually meet. Use the plate on your own machine when you have one — these are for when you do not.

Heating, cooling and air

Appliance	Typical	Usual range
Electric space heater	1,500 W	750–2,000 W
Oil-filled radiator	1,500 W	800–2,500 W
Fan heater	2,000 W	1,000–3,000 W
Window air conditioner	900 W	500–1,500 W
Portable air conditioner	1,100 W	800–1,500 W
Central air conditioning	3,500 W	2,000–5,000 W
Mini split, while cooling	850 W	400–1,800 W
Heat pump, while heating	1,200 W	800–2,500 W
Dehumidifier	300 W	200–700 W
Humidifier	40 W	20–300 W
Pedestal or ceiling fan	60 W	20–100 W
Extractor fan	25 W	10–50 W

Kitchen

Appliance	Typical	Usual range
Fridge freezer, while running	150 W	100–250 W
Chest freezer, while running	120 W	80–200 W
Electric oven	2,400 W	2,000–3,000 W
Induction hob, one ring	2,000 W	1,400–3,700 W
Microwave	1,100 W	700–1,500 W
Air fryer	1,500 W	1,000–2,000 W
Electric kettle	2,500 W	2,000–3,000 W
Toaster	1,000 W	800–1,500 W
Coffee machine, brewing	1,000 W	600–1,500 W
Extractor hood	150 W	60–250 W

Laundry (per cycle, not per hour)

Machine	Typical	Usual range
Washing machine, 30 °C	0.7 kWh	0.4–1.4 kWh
Washing machine, 60 °C	1.4 kWh	1.0–2.2 kWh
Tumble dryer, vented	3.3 kWh	2.5–4.5 kWh
Tumble dryer, condenser	2.5 kWh	2.0–3.5 kWh
Tumble dryer, heat pump	1.1 kWh	0.8–1.6 kWh
Dishwasher, normal	1.0 kWh	0.7–1.5 kWh
Dishwasher, eco	0.7 kWh	0.5–1.0 kWh

Tech and entertainment

Device	Typical	Usual range
Television, 43-inch LED	60 W	40–90 W
Television, 55-inch LED	90 W	50–150 W
Television, 65-inch	120 W	80–200 W
Soundbar	35 W	15–60 W
Games console, playing	180 W	50–220 W
Games console, rest mode	12 W	8–15 W
Gaming PC, under load	450 W	300–800 W
Desktop PC, idle	80 W	50–120 W
Laptop	50 W	30–90 W
Monitor, 27-inch	40 W	25–80 W
Router	10 W	5–20 W
Set-top box or DVR	20 W	10–30 W
Phone charger, charging	15 W	5–45 W
Phone charger, idle	0.3 W	0.1–0.5 W

Big loads

Appliance	Typical	Usual range
Electric water heater element	4,000 W	3,000–5,500 W
Electric shower	9,000 W	7,500–10,500 W
Hot tub heater	3,000 W	1,500–6,000 W
Pool pump, single speed	1,100 W	700–2,000 W
EV charger, home AC	7,000 W	3,700–11,000 W
Tumble dryer element	2,500 W	2,000–3,000 W

When the plate is gone

Three fallbacks, in order of accuracy:

Electricity Tariffs Explained

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Every calculation on this site needs one number from your bill, and bills are designed to make it hard to find. Here is what each part means and which one to use.

Unit rate — the number you want

The unit rate is what you pay per kilowatt-hour consumed. It is the only figure that belongs in a running-cost calculation, because it is the only part that changes with how much you use.

Heat Pump vs Electric Heater

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the largest single running-cost difference in a house, and it rests on one idea that sounds like a trick.

100% efficient is the worst you can do

An electric resistance heater — ceramic, oil-filled, fan, panel, baseboard, immersion element — converts electricity to heat at exactly 100%. Every watt in becomes a watt of warmth. There is nothing wasted and no room for improvement, which is why one 1,500 W heater costs precisely the same to run as any other.

Home vs Public EV Charging

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Charging an electric car has the widest price range of anything on this site. The same kilowatt-hour can cost four times more depending on where the cable is plugged in.

The comparison, per mile

At 3.5 miles per kWh, which is typical for a mid-size EV in mild weather, with a 10% charging loss on AC:

Where	Price per kWh	Cost per mile	10,000 miles
Home, overnight EV tariff (UK)	£0.07	2.2p	£220
Home, off-peak (US)	$0.08	2.5¢	$251
Home, standard rate (US)	$0.17	5.3¢	$535
Home, standard rate (UK)	£0.25	7.9p	£786
Home, household rate (Germany)	€0.35	11.0¢	€1,100
Public AC destination charger	$0.30	9.4¢	$943
Public rapid / DC fast charger	$0.45	14.1¢	$1,414

For comparison, a petrol car at 30 mpg with fuel at $3.50 a gallon is 11.7 cents a mile; at 40 mpg with fuel at £1.45 a litre, about 16.5p.

How to Read Your Electricity Meter

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Every figure on this site is an estimate until you check it against the thing that actually counts your electricity. Doing that takes ten minutes and needs no equipment.

Reading the meter

Digital display. Read the digits left to right, ignoring anything after a decimal point or in a red box. Some meters cycle through several displays — the one you want is labelled kWh, sometimes with a rate number (rate 1 is usually day, rate 2 night).

How to Work Out a Running Cost

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The arithmetic takes ten seconds. Getting the inputs right is where the work is.

The formula

watts × hours ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh = cost

A 1,500 W heater, four hours, at $0.17 per kWh: 1,500 × 4 = 6,000 watt-hours = 6 kWh × 0.17 = $1.02. That is the whole method, and everything else on this site is that line with better inputs.

Where the two numbers live

Watts are on the rating plate: the back of a television, the base of a kettle, inside the washing machine door, on the power supply brick. If it lists volts and amps instead, multiply them. If the plate has gone, the wattage table has typical figures with the usual range.

The Biggest Electricity Users in a Home

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ask someone which appliance uses the most electricity and they will usually name something with a screen. The real ranking is almost entirely about heat and hours.

The ranking, by annual kilowatt-hours

For an all-electric household of three or four. Homes with gas heating and hot water simply delete the top rows.

Rank	Where it goes	kWh a year	At $0.17
1	Space heating	3,000–12,000	$510–2,040
2	Water heating	3,000–5,000	$510–850
3	Air conditioning	1,000–3,000	$170–510
4	EV charging, 10,000 miles	2,900	$493
5	Hot tub, if there is one	2,000–4,000	$340–680
6	Tumble dryer, 4 loads a week	230–690	$39–117
7	Fridge and freezer	350–600	$60–102
8	Standby, whole household	260–525	$44–89
9	Cooking	300–600	$51–102
10	Gaming PC, 4 h a day	500–900	$85–153
11	Lighting, all LED	200–400	$34–68
12	Washing machine	100–200	$17–34
13	Television and entertainment	150–300	$26–51
14	Dishwasher	200–320	$34–54

Two patterns explain the whole table

Heat dominates. Everything in the top five either makes heat or moves it. Turning electricity into warmth needs orders of magnitude more energy than turning it into light, sound or computation. That is why one heater outranks every screen in the house combined.

The Cheapest Time to Run Appliances

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The honest answer comes in two halves, and which half applies to you depends entirely on your tariff.

On a flat tariff: it makes no difference

If your bill has one unit rate, a kilowatt-hour costs the same at 3 am and 6 pm. Running the dishwasher overnight saves nothing at all. The widely repeated advice to use appliances at night is inherited from countries and decades where nearly everybody was on a two-rate meter.

What Standby Power Really Costs

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Standby is the most talked-about and least measured item on any electricity bill. Both halves of that are worth fixing.

The number that makes it make sense

One watt left on permanently is 8.76 kWh a year. At $0.17 that is $1.49; at £0.25, £2.19; at €0.35, €3.07 — every year, for as long as the device exists.

So the question for any device is not “does it use power on standby” but “how many watts”. One watt is a rounding error. Twenty watts is a fridge.