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Managing Money

How Much Electricity Does My Appliance Use? From Fans to Slow Cookers

Erin Yurday

Author

24 February 2026

3 min read

Contents

How Much Electricity Do These Common Household Appliances Use?How Much Does it Cost to Run Domestic Appliances (March 2026)?How Much Does it Cost to Run Air Conditioning?How Much Electricity Does a PS4 Use?

The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement.

With the average cost of electricity hitting extraordinarily high figures, you may be wondering which of your appliances consume the most energy. We've gathered data on some common appliances to give you an idea of the biggest offenders in your home, so you know what to prioritize turning off. While actual energy use depends on the make and model of your appliances, as well factors like usage times and even temperature conditions, use these figures to get an idea of the cost of running your house.

How Much Electricity Do These Common Household Appliances Use?

We've gathered energy consumption data on common household appliances in order to calculate how much energy they use. Since appliances vary in their energy needs, we've provided a range from low to high energy consumption in order to capture the energy needs of most UK appliances.

Category

Watts (~energy per hour)

Watts (~energy per hour)

Typical Usage

kWh (per typical use)

kWh (per typical use)

Category

Low

High

Low

High

Air conditioning unit

700

4000

5 hours

3.50

20.00

Fan (tower)

40

100

8 hours

0.32

0.80

Tumble dryer

1300

2300

1 cycle

1.30

2.30

Dehumidifier

250

700

4 hours

1.00

2.80

Washing machine

600

1000

1 cycle

0.60

1.00

Fridge-freezer

23

45

Per year

0.55

1.08

Oven

500

1000

1 hour

0.50

1.00

Slow cooker

70

250

6 hours

0.42

1.50

Air fryer

900

2000

20 minutes

0.27

0.60

Leaving a light on (one 60 watt bulb)

60

6 hours

0.36

Electric Blanket

60

200

8 hours

0.48

1.60

Computer

80

200

2 hours

0.16

0.40

Iron

1000

1800

30 minutes

0.50

0.90

Leaving a light on (one led bulb)

6

6 hours

0.04

Laptop

20

65

2 hours

0.04

0.13

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - led

7

6 hours

0.04

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - incandescant

41

6 hours

0.25

TV - on

115

4 hours

0.46

TV - standby

0.6

20 hours

0.01

TV box

12

30

All day

0.29

0.72

How Much Does it Cost to Run Domestic Appliances (March 2026)?

We used the electricity consumption numbers above to estimate the cost of running our set of common household appliances per day or use (e.g., 24 hours for a fridge, one cycle for a washer, etc.) and also per year. Your electricity bills for these appliances may be higher or lower, depending on how frequently you use them. Also, some appliances are more energy efficient than others. Our calculations use an average cost of electricity of 27.69p per kWh, which is based on the price cap from January - March 2026.

Category

Cost per Use

Cost per Use

Frequency

Estimated Cost Per Year

Estimated Cost Per Year

Category

Low

High

Low

High

Air conditioner unit

£1.25

£5.54

5 hrs/day, 20 days/year

£25

£111

Fan (tower)

£0.09

£0.22

8 hours, 180 days per year

£16

£40

Tumble dryer

£0.36

£0.64

One cycle per day

£131

£232

Dehumidifier

£0.28

£0.78

4 hours each day

£101

£283

Washing machine

£0.17

£0.28

One cycle per day

£61

£101

Fridge-freezer

£0.15

£0.30

24 hours each day

£56

£109

Oven

£0.14

£0.28

1 hour each day

£51

£101

Air fryer

£0.07

£0.17

20 minutes per day

£27

£61

Leaving a light on (one 60 watt bulb)

£0.10

6 hrs/day, 365 days/year

£36

Electric Blanket

£0.13

£0.44

8 hours, 180 days per year

£24

£80

Computer

£0.04

£0.11

2 hours each day

£16

£40

Iron

£0.14

£0.25

Twice per week

£14

£26

Leaving a light on (one led bulb)

£0.01

6 hrs/day, 365 days/year

£4

Laptop

£0.01

£0.04

2 hours each day

£4

£13

Slow cooker

£0.12

£0.42

6 hours, 3 days per week

£18

£65

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - led

£0.01

6 hours, 90 days per year

£1

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - incandescant

£0.07

6 hours, 90 days per year

£6

TV - on

£0.13

4 hours each day

£46

TV - standby

£0.00

20 hours each day

£1

TV box

£0.08

£0.20

All day every day

£29

£73

How Much Does it Cost to Run Air Conditioning?

It depends on the energy efficiency and draw of the unit, as well as factors like how long it's run. For example, an air con setup drawing 900 watts an hour run for 5 hours would burn 4.5kW of electricity at a cost around £1.25 (4.5kWh * 27.69p/kWh).

How Much Electricity Does a PS4 Use?

Adding a PS4 to your household would increase your electricity bills by around £100 per year assuming you play 2 hours per day, depending on the model and how you power down when the system is not in use. The more powerful Pro models cost more to run, as they require more electricity during active gaming. As the systems use much more electricity during active gaming, those who play more will clearly have higher energy bills. To figure out your estimated electricity costs, simply adjust the numbers according to your play time (e.g., by playing 1 hour per day on average, your active gaming electricity charges would be half that of the numbers, for instance).

Learn

>

Managing Money

How Much Electricity Does My Appliance Use? From Fans to Slow Cookers

Erin Yurday

Author

24 February 2026

3 min read

Contents

How Much Electricity Do These Common Household Appliances Use?How Much Does it Cost to Run Domestic Appliances (March 2026)?How Much Does it Cost to Run Air Conditioning?How Much Electricity Does a PS4 Use?

The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement.

With the average cost of electricity hitting extraordinarily high figures, you may be wondering which of your appliances consume the most energy. We've gathered data on some common appliances to give you an idea of the biggest offenders in your home, so you know what to prioritize turning off. While actual energy use depends on the make and model of your appliances, as well factors like usage times and even temperature conditions, use these figures to get an idea of the cost of running your house.

How Much Electricity Do These Common Household Appliances Use?

We've gathered energy consumption data on common household appliances in order to calculate how much energy they use. Since appliances vary in their energy needs, we've provided a range from low to high energy consumption in order to capture the energy needs of most UK appliances.

Category

Watts (~energy per hour)

Watts (~energy per hour)

Typical Usage

kWh (per typical use)

kWh (per typical use)

Category

Low

High

Low

High

Air conditioning unit

700

4000

5 hours

3.50

20.00

Fan (tower)

40

100

8 hours

0.32

0.80

Tumble dryer

1300

2300

1 cycle

1.30

2.30

Dehumidifier

250

700

4 hours

1.00

2.80

Washing machine

600

1000

1 cycle

0.60

1.00

Fridge-freezer

23

45

Per year

0.55

1.08

Oven

500

1000

1 hour

0.50

1.00

Slow cooker

70

250

6 hours

0.42

1.50

Air fryer

900

2000

20 minutes

0.27

0.60

Leaving a light on (one 60 watt bulb)

60

6 hours

0.36

Electric Blanket

60

200

8 hours

0.48

1.60

Computer

80

200

2 hours

0.16

0.40

Iron

1000

1800

30 minutes

0.50

0.90

Leaving a light on (one led bulb)

6

6 hours

0.04

Laptop

20

65

2 hours

0.04

0.13

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - led

7

6 hours

0.04

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - incandescant

41

6 hours

0.25

TV - on

115

4 hours

0.46

TV - standby

0.6

20 hours

0.01

TV box

12

30

All day

0.29

0.72

How Much Does it Cost to Run Domestic Appliances (March 2026)?

We used the electricity consumption numbers above to estimate the cost of running our set of common household appliances per day or use (e.g., 24 hours for a fridge, one cycle for a washer, etc.) and also per year. Your electricity bills for these appliances may be higher or lower, depending on how frequently you use them. Also, some appliances are more energy efficient than others. Our calculations use an average cost of electricity of 27.69p per kWh, which is based on the price cap from January - March 2026.

Category

Cost per Use

Cost per Use

Frequency

Estimated Cost Per Year

Estimated Cost Per Year

Category

Low

High

Low

High

Air conditioner unit

£1.25

£5.54

5 hrs/day, 20 days/year

£25

£111

Fan (tower)

£0.09

£0.22

8 hours, 180 days per year

£16

£40

Tumble dryer

£0.36

£0.64

One cycle per day

£131

£232

Dehumidifier

£0.28

£0.78

4 hours each day

£101

£283

Washing machine

£0.17

£0.28

One cycle per day

£61

£101

Fridge-freezer

£0.15

£0.30

24 hours each day

£56

£109

Oven

£0.14

£0.28

1 hour each day

£51

£101

Air fryer

£0.07

£0.17

20 minutes per day

£27

£61

Leaving a light on (one 60 watt bulb)

£0.10

6 hrs/day, 365 days/year

£36

Electric Blanket

£0.13

£0.44

8 hours, 180 days per year

£24

£80

Computer

£0.04

£0.11

2 hours each day

£16

£40

Iron

£0.14

£0.25

Twice per week

£14

£26

Leaving a light on (one led bulb)

£0.01

6 hrs/day, 365 days/year

£4

Laptop

£0.01

£0.04

2 hours each day

£4

£13

Slow cooker

£0.12

£0.42

6 hours, 3 days per week

£18

£65

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - led

£0.01

6 hours, 90 days per year

£1

100 fairy lights/xmas lights - incandescant

£0.07

6 hours, 90 days per year

£6

TV - on

£0.13

4 hours each day

£46

TV - standby

£0.00

20 hours each day

£1

TV box

£0.08

£0.20

All day every day

£29

£73

How Much Does it Cost to Run Air Conditioning?

It depends on the energy efficiency and draw of the unit, as well as factors like how long it's run. For example, an air con setup drawing 900 watts an hour run for 5 hours would burn 4.5kW of electricity at a cost around £1.25 (4.5kWh * 27.69p/kWh).

How Much Electricity Does a PS4 Use?

Adding a PS4 to your household would increase your electricity bills by around £100 per year assuming you play 2 hours per day, depending on the model and how you power down when the system is not in use. The more powerful Pro models cost more to run, as they require more electricity during active gaming. As the systems use much more electricity during active gaming, those who play more will clearly have higher energy bills. To figure out your estimated electricity costs, simply adjust the numbers according to your play time (e.g., by playing 1 hour per day on average, your active gaming electricity charges would be half that of the numbers, for instance).