CHRISTMAS preparations are in full swing, but some popular presents could add a small fortune to your energy bills.
And even a little bit extra could be a concern for Brits this Christmas as households contend with rising energy bills.
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Because of this, you’ll be wanting to know how you can save money.
You could save yourself hundreds by making some simple tweaks to the way you’re using them.
Below are the five energy-guzzling household appliances that could be adding £189.52 to your energy bill.
But of course, the cost of running each device will depend on the device you have and the below prices are based on estimates.
Games consoles – £90
It’s easy to get carried away and lose track of time on a new game, or to leave it switched on at night, but it can be costly.
Experts at USwitch say playing a PlayStation 5 for an hour will cost around 7p.
So if you played on a PlayStation 5 for an hour a day, every day for a month – starting on Christmas Day – this would have cost you £2.10.
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And if you played it everyday until the following Christmas, this would cost around £25.
Switching them off properly at the switch and not leaving them on standby means that you could save £65 a year, according to Energy Saving Trust.
This means that over the course of a year, you could be spending £90 playing on the console and leaving it on standby.
So make sure to double check the gadget is completely switched off before you pop the controller down.
Coffee machine – £29.20
More and more of us opting to brew at home as the cost of popular takeaway drinks soar.
But if you’ve added a coffee maker to your Christmas list, you may want to make a note of how much it could cost you to run,
Running a 1,450W coffee machine for ten minutes would cost around 8p, according to USwitch.
So if you did this everyday for a year, this would cost you £29.20.
But this could still be cheaper than buying a hot drink from a coffee shop.
A Sun Investigation revealed that the price of a small cappuccino at Costa Coffee has increased from £3.15 to £3.50.
If you bought two a week for a year, this would cost you a whopping £364 – £334.80 more than the cost of running a coffee machine.
It may also prove to be cheaper than running a kettle.
It currently cost 9p to run your kettle for five minutes ,and if you were to do so everyday for a year, it will set you back £32.76.
But you will need to take into consideration the cost of buying pods for your coffee maker.
For example, a pack of 50 Nespresso coffee pods can set you back £29 on Amazon.
While a 190g jar of Douwe Egberts is just £5.49 at Tesco.
And coffee machine pods usually won’t work between rival brands, meaning that once you’ve got your machine you’re locked into buying one brand of pods indefinitely.
It’s worth taking these things into consideration before popping a coffee machine on your Christmas list.
TV – £35.57
With the nights drawing in, you may be hoping for a new TV under your Christmas tree to keep you entertained.
Estimates by Which? show that the average 40 to 43 inch television costs £30.51 a year to run.
This figure is based of using the television with optimal setting and having an electricity unit rate of 34p per kWh.
If you get a 48 to 50 inch television – it’ll set you back £35.57 a year to run.
A 55 to 58 inch TV will cost £39.89 and a 65 inch box will set you back £49.66.
The type of screen on your set will have an impact on the running costs but not a major one.
Which? previously told The Sun that LCD screens were the most expensive option, while QLED screens were typically the cheapest.
And if you have an old TV, such as a CRT, switching to a new model is more than likely to save you energy.
A 55-inch LCD TV cost an average of £28.59 a year to run, compared to £24.83 for a QLED model.
A 55-inch OLED screen came in as the most expensive at £27.07, but was marginally cheaper than an LCD screen on other sizes.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind to help you reduce the cost of running your TV in future.
First of all, the size and type of screen you use will impact your running costs.
In general, the smaller the TV, the less it will cost you to keep on, but the type of TV matters too.
Switching TVs as well as game consoles and set-top-boxes off at the switch and not leaving them on standby when not in use could save you £65 a year, according to Energy Saving Trust.
Gadgets – £18.11
Amazon products are always popular at Christmas, but have you ever considered how much they may cost you to run?
Thankfully, energy experts at USwitch say smart speakers and virtual home assistants use very little energy.
For 24 hours, it would cost around 1p to keep a device – such as an Amazon Echo – connected in standby mode, with its microphone switched on.
If you kept it on everyday for a year, this would cost just £3.56.
And if you’re hoping to get a new gadget such as a laptop or an iPhone for Christmas, you may want to think about how much it costs to charge them up.
Charging a 100W laptop for an hour could cost around 3p, according to USwitch – or £10.95 per year.
While using a 15W charger for an iPhone 12 for two hours would cost 1p.
The phone uses a 20 watt charger and takes two hours and 27 minutes to get a full battery.
This means it will cost around £3.60 per year to keep it charged – and 30p per month.
While these may seem like relatively small costs, it’s important to factor in the cost of leaving them on charge or on standby.
Utilita previously estimated that leaving a laptop on charge will cost you an extra 1.33p a day, adding up to £4.87 over the course of a year.
Leaving a smart speaking unused but plugged in could put an extra £3.45 on your annual bill. There’s not much smart about that.
And keeping your phone plugged in unnecessarily could add another 32p a year to your bill, as well as all the energy you use when you’re actually charging your phone.
Hair dryer – £16.64
Most of us take some time over Christmas to slow down and treat ourselves to some pampering.
So if you’ve asked Santa for a new hairdryer for Christmas, make a note of how much you could be spending to run it.
If you use your hair dryer at full power, it costs around 8p for eight minutes use.
If you wash and dry your hair four times a week, this will cost £16.64.
But if you were to use it on eco mode without the heating element, it would cost £0.99 a year to run.
How can you reduce your energy bills at Christmas?
If you’re looking for extra ways to cut back on your energy bills this winter, they are a number of options open to you.
First, there’s the warm home discount scheme which is an automatic £150 discount off energy bills between October 2022 and March 2023 for millions of families on the lowest incomes.
Plus, the next tranche of the Household Support Fund is being rolled out across the UK.
What you’ll get through the fund will depend on where you live as councils decide how to issue their share of the fund.
The best thing to do is contact your local council to find out whether you might be entitled to help.
Next, there’s the cost of living payments which have already started being issued.
Millions should be in the process of receiving the second instalment of the £650 cost of living payment.
Millions more will get help depending on their circumstances.
In addition to that, energy companies often offer grants to customers who are struggling to pay for their bills.
For a list of freebies and grants you can get, you can read our guide here.
