What is that appliance actually costing you?
Running costs are dominated by a handful of appliances. Most of the things people worry about cost pennies.
91% of a tumble dryer, twice a week
100 USD is more than 5 of the 8 references on this page.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| phone charging | 1.5 USD | 66.7× | |
| LED bulb, 4 hours a day | 2 USD | 50× | |
| router, always on | 8 USD | 12.5× | |
| television, 4 hours a day | 25 USD | 4× | |
| fridge-freezer | 60 USD | 1.67× | |
| tumble dryer, twice a week | 110 USD | 0.909× | |
| electric shower | 180 USD | 0.556× | |
| whole household electricity | 1,600 USD | 1/16 | US average |
Worth knowing
- Charging a phone every night costs about $1.50 a year. Leaving devices on standby costs far less than people fear; heating water costs far more.
- Anything that makes heat dominates the bill: showers, dryers, kettles and ovens. Anything with a screen does not.
Frequently asked
What uses the most electricity in a home?
Heating, hot water and anything that heats water on demand. After those, the fridge-freezer wins on hours rather than watts, because it never stops.
Is standby power worth worrying about?
Modern standby is capped at 0.5 W by regulation, about $0.60 a year per device. It is real but trivial next to a tumble dryer.
How to read this
Costs assume about $0.16 per kWh. Scale by your own tariff to get your own numbers.