What every appliance in your home costs to run in 2026

Quick answer: At the July to September 2026 cap rate of 26.11p/kWh, the expensive appliances are the ones that make heat: an electric shower costs about 39p per 10-minute shower, an oven 55p an hour and a tumble dryer 65p an hour. Ten minutes of kettle boiling costs 13p, a dishwasher eco cycle 19p, a washing machine wash 9-15p, and a fridge freezer £27-£91 a year.

How we worked these figures out

Cost = watts x hours / 1,000 x 26.11p. That’s the whole method. Unit rate is the Ofgem cap rate for July to September 2026 (direct debit, GB average). Typical wattages come from the Centre for Sustainable Energy’s July 2026 tables; where an appliance has a proper energy label we have used measured label data instead, from manufacturer spec sheets, the EPREL label database and Which? lab tests, all checked August 2026.

This table is a companion piece to our Cost Index, which does the same job for the big home-energy upgrades. Method notes live on our how we calculate costs page. These are typical figures, not promises; your appliance’s label and your tariff are the final word.

What 17 household appliances cost to run in 2026

Wattages: Centre for Sustainable Energy. Dishwasher: Bosch SMS6ZDW48G spec sheet. Washing machines: manufacturer label data (see our cheapest washing machines guide). TV: EPREL label sheets. Air fryer: Which?, June 2026. Fridge freezer range: Sust-it and typical F-rated consumption.

Which appliances cost the most?

Anything that turns electricity into heat. The shower, immersion heater, dryer, oven and kettle all cluster at the top because heating water and air takes serious energy; electronics barely register by comparison. A single 10-minute electric shower costs more than an entire evening of TV, console and router combined.

The other category that punches above its weight is the always-on load. A router at 6p a day is £23 a year; a fridge freezer is £27 to £91; standby devices add more still. None of them has an off switch in practice, which is exactly why they add up. Our energy vampires guide covers what’s worth unplugging, and our standby power breakdown puts numbers on the sockets you forget about.

A gas comparison helps calibrate all of this. Gas costs 7.33p/kWh under the same cap, about 3.5 times less per unit than electricity, which is why a gas hob and gas oven barely feature in bill panic while their electric twins sit near the top of the table. The trade-offs between the two fuels get a full treatment in our electricity vs gas cost comparison.

Where are the quick wins?

• Swap dryer loads for the line or an airer when weather allows: each avoided cycle saves about 65p. The full sums are in our dryer vs washing line comparison.
• Cook small meals in small appliances: air fryer or microwave rather than the oven. Dish-by-dish costs are in our air fryer vs oven cost-per-meal guide.
• Boil what you need, not a full kettle: details in our kettle boiling costs guide.
• Run wet appliances full and on eco: label figures assume it, and it’s where the 9p wash and 19p dishwash come from.
• Shorter showers beat almost everything above: two minutes off a daily electric shower saves about £28 a year per person. See electric shower running costs.

Guides for each appliance

Every appliance in the table has, or is getting, its own deep-dive with the maths shown:

• Fridge freezer energy ratings explained
• Dishwasher energy ratings explained
• The cheapest washing machines to run
• TV energy ratings and running costs
• Air fryer vs oven, meal by meal
• Washing machine energy ratings explained
• Tumble dryer types and running costs
• Dishwasher vs washing up by hand
• Microwave vs oven vs hob
• Immersion heater running costs
• Dehumidifier running costs
• TV and games console electricity costs

FAQs

What uses the most electricity in a UK home?

Per hour of use: the electric shower and immersion heater. Per year: usually heating, then the wet appliances (dryer, washing machine, dishwasher) and the fridge freezer, because they run so often. Heat plus frequency is what builds a big bill.

Will these costs change?

Yes, every quarter. Ofgem resets the price cap in January, April, July and October, and every figure above scales with the unit rate. Our guide to how the price cap works explains the mechanics.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes, with attribution to Home Energy Quotes. Every figure is worked from public sources (CSE wattages, manufacturer label data and the Ofgem cap rate) using the formula at the top of this page, so you can check or update any sum yourself.