MARTIN Lewis has revealed how to work out the cost of running appliances – we explain prices for ovens, washing machines and more.
Millions of households have been hit with energy bill hikes after the government rolled out the energy price guarantee.
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It means energy bills have been frozen at £2,500 for the average household for two years – up from £1,971.
Many will now be wondering how much it costs to run common household appliances under the new cap.
Martin has revealed a simple way to calculate the running cost of toasters, microwaves and more.
The money-saving expert took to Twitter to explain how billpayers can crunch the numbers themselves.
Martin said you first need to find the wattage of your appliance – this is how much energy it needs to run.
You then need to keep in mind that 1,000 watts is worth a kilowatt (kW).
You pay roughly 34p per kW per hour, which is abbreviated as kWh.
Martin gave an example in his tweet.
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“So 100W (a tenth of a kW) appliance on for two hours is 3.4p an hour x 2 = 6.8p,” he said.
How much your common household appliances cost to run
Using Martin’s calculation, The Sun has crunched the numbers on how much it costs to run a number of common household appliances.
It’s important to note that Martin said the sum was a “rule of thumb” to give people a rough idea of running costs.
That means it won’t provide exact running costs, more of an indication.
But it’s still a good calculation to use to get an idea of costings – and how you should be regulating your usage.
Microwave
Microwaves in the average home generally have a wattage of between 700 and 1,200 watts.
A 700-watt model would use 0.7 kilowatts per hour (kWh) and a 1,200 model, 1.2kWh.
That means the 700-watt model will cost 23.8p per hour to run.
While a model which uses 1,200 watts will cost you 40.8p per hour.
If you use your microwave an hour per week, that will set you back £21.22 a year.
Oven
Using your oven with an average power rating of 2,100 watts to cook your food will soon add up.
It will cost you 71.4p an hour to run.
If you use your oven an hour a day, that will cost you £260.61 over the year.
Washing machine
According to the Centre for Sustainable Energy, the average washing machine uses 2,100 watts of energy.
That means it will cost you 71.4p an hour to run as well.
If you use your washing machine for two hours a week, that will cost you £74.26 a year.
Larger families will likely see this figure rise as they have more laundry to get through.
Toaster
If you’re a fan of toast in the morning, you’ll want to know how much it’s costing you on your energy bills.
According to the Centre for Sustainable Energy, toasters use around 1,000 watts of power.
That means it costs 34p to run a toast for an hour.
It takes around four minutes to toast bread – which equals 1.36p.
That means if you use your toaster every day, that will cost you £4.96 over the year.
How else you can monitor your energy usage?
If you’re not great with numbers or don’t want to have to do the maths yourself, there are other ways of seeing how much your appliances cost to run.
Investing in a smart plug will show this cost – they cost around £12 – and a screen on the plug shows how much power the item is using.
Each plug is different but it measures the energy use of the individual appliance you’ve plugged in.
With some, you can enter the price you pay for energy and then the gadget works out the cost for you.
The cost per unit you pay depends on the tariff you’re on but you can usually find this information on your latest energy bill or online account.
Smart meters can also help you track the cost of energy.
These are different to the energy use plugs as they show how much gas or electric you are using in real-time for the whole home.
Most energy suppliers are giving these out for free, but some have been beset by tech issues.
You can also get smart plugs which let you control some appliances remotely, like lamps.
One homeowner installed smart thermostats on his radiator to control the heating in each room, helping him save hundreds of pound on his bill.
How to get help with energy bills
There are plenty of energy grants and schemes open to help you out if you’re struggling.
British Gas recently confirmed it’ll pay its most vulnerable customers grants worth £750 to help with sky-high bills.
Ask your supplier what’s on offer and how to apply, or check here:
There’s also a one-off fuel voucher from your energy supplier if you’re on a prepayment metre.
If you’re in debt there are plenty of services you can take advantage of and they offer free and friendly advice on how to manage debt.
Most of them can offer you free guidance and help in person, over the telephone or online.
