As the cost of living crisis continues, homeowners are questioning the efficiency of the appliances in their home in an effort to reduce their energy bills as much as possible.
Boiler cover brand, Hometree, have reviewed a number of essential home appliances in the market and identified which are the most energy-efficient vs those that may have the greatest impact on your bills.
Fridge Freezers
Finally, we delved into the most energy-efficient fridge freezers, and every model we analysed cost only £0.01 every hour when set to a temperature of 4oC – highlighting that they were all highly energy-efficient. The Amica FDR2213B model had the highest energy consumption at 0.0258kWh, while the Whirlpool SW8 1Q XR had the lowest at 0.0166kWh. This model was also the cheapest to buy outright at £499, compared to the most expensive at £1,699.
Based on the Whirlpool SW8 1Q XR fridge freezer running 24/7, for 10 years, (the average lifespan of a fridge freezer), it has a total running energy cost of £492.90 for its lifetime – costing a total amount of £991.90 when factoring in the original purchase price of £499.
Dishwashers
When it comes to dishwashers, we found the Samsung DW6A8060BB to be the most energy-efficient of the brands we looked at, costing only £0.22 when running for an hour. This is based on the 1,800W of energy per use.
Based on one hour’s use per week, for 10 years (the average lifespan of a dishwasher), the Samsung DW6A8060BB has a total running energy cost of £114.40 for its lifetime – costing a total amount of £963.40 when factoring in the original purchase price of £849.
Product director of Hometree, Nicola Battery, adds: “While many people think that dishwashers are expensive to run, it can be more cost-effective than hand-washing if loaded correctly. It’s important to ensure the dishwasher is full when running and you can opt for a lower temperature to conserve energy. Some dishwashers even have an energy saving mode, which saves on the amount of water used, so it’s worth checking to see if yours has that option.”
Kettles
Another household essential is the kettle – and we found the most energy-efficient model of those we looked at to be the Tower Presto, with an hourly cost of £0.75. It also costs just £13.99 (based on current discounted offer) to buy and has a fairly low energy consumption rate of 2,200W.
Based on 30 minutes of use per week, for 4.5 years (the average lifetime of a kettle), the Tower Presto has a total running energy cost of £51.48 for its lifespan – costing a total amount of £65.47 when factoring in the original purchase price of £13.99.
Air Fryers
Air fryers are much more energy-efficient than most ovens, because they cook food much faster, although keep in mind that they use electricity, which is typically more expensive than gas. Recent research has shown that cooking in an air fryer costs about half the price of cooking in an oven.
An air fryer is similar to an oven in the sense that it bakes and roasts. The main difference is that the heating elements are only located on the top and are accompanied by a large, powerful fan.
When crunching the numbers for air fryers, the Tower T17026 took first place for being the most energy-efficient of the group, costing only £0.04 if left running for an hour. This is based on the 1 kWh of energy consumption per use.
Slow Cookers
Slow cookers are also making a comeback – and with good reason. In terms of appliances, it’s one of the most energy-efficient ways to cook.
Even if you have it on all day, slowly braising a beef casserole, it will use about the same amount of energy as a lightbulb, cutting your energy consumption and saving you some money in the process. Slow cookers have low wattage, so even cooking something for 8 hours will use less energy than an oven or hob.
On average, slow cookers usually use about 1.2 kWh over the course of 8 hours, costing you around £0.32 for the use – compared to £0.37 for using a regular cooker for one hour. Data showed that the most energy efficient slow cooker was the Tower 1.5 Litre Slow Cooker, which came to a purchase price of £16.99.
