Running costs
What does it cost to run?
The appliances people ask about most, priced at the price cap for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026. Each page has a calculator for your own appliance, your habits and your region.
| Appliance | Typical cost | Range | A year, used as shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil-filled radiator | 53p an hour | 39p to 66p | £7694 hours a day |
| Electric heater | 53p an hour | 26p to 79p | £5763 hours a day |
| Immersion heater | £2.20 a full 150-litre cylinder from cold | £1.10 to £2.53 | £425a typical household’s 95 litres of hot water a day |
| Tumble dryer | £1.33 a load | £1.17 to £1.50 | £2093 loads a week |
| Dehumidifier | 6p an hour | 4p to 9p | £1668 hours a day |
| Electric shower | 30p an 8-minute shower | 25p to 37p | £109one 8-minute shower a day |
| Electric oven | 39p an hour | 23p to 55p | £811 hour, 4 times a week |
| Fridge-freezer | £68 a year | £58 to £70 | £68running all year |
| Kettle | 4p a boil | 3p to 4p | £66five boils a day |
| Heated clothes airer | 7p an hour | 6p to 9p | £585 hours, 3 times a week |
| Washing machine | 20p a wash | 13p to 26p | £51five washes a week |
| Slow cooker | 47p an 8-hour cook | 32p to 63p | £25one 8-hour cook a week |
| Air fryer | 23p an hour | 16p to 31p | £2020 minutes, 5 times a week |
| Electric blanket | 4p an hour | 2p to 6p | £151 hour a day |
At the Great Britain average electricity rate of 26.32p a kWh, direct debit. Sorted by cost over a year.
How we work it out
Running cost is the energy an appliance uses times your unit rate. We use the energy it really uses, not just its rating: an oven or an air fryer with a thermostat isn’t heating flat out for the whole hour, so we use National Energy Action’s average cost per hour; a fridge-freezer runs on and off all day, so we use the yearly figure on its energy label. Where a source gives a cost rather than a power, we turn it back into kWh at the unit rate the source used, then price it at today’s rates. Each page names its sources.
Prices are Ofgem’s price cap unit rates for each region, paying by direct debit, with any VAT that applies already included, so we add none on top. We leave the standing charge out, because it doesn’t change with what you switch on.
The yearly figures assume the usage shown beside each one. Yours will differ, which is what the calculator on each page is for.
Common questions
- What costs the most to run in a home?
- Anything that makes heat. Of the appliances here, used as shown, oil-filled radiator, electric heater and immersion heater cost the most over a year at the current cap. Things that run for minutes, like a kettle, cost little each time but add up with frequent use; things that run all day, like a fridge-freezer, add up because they never stop.
- How do I work out what an appliance costs to run?
- Multiply the energy it uses in kWh by your unit rate. A 1 kW appliance running for an hour uses 1 kWh, which costs 26p at the Great Britain average electricity rate of 26.32p a kWh. Appliances with a thermostat, such as ovens, use less than their rating over an hour.
- Should I include the standing charge?
- No. The standing charge is a daily fee for being connected, paid whether or not anything is switched on, so it adds nothing to what using an appliance costs and you save none of it by using less.
Showers, with a gas combi or electric, have their own calculator in shower and appliance running costs.