The nine most expensive devices to run in your home have been revealed – how to cut costs

EVERYONE knows that running devices around the house costs money.

But some could add to your bills a lot more than you once thought.

1

With the average annual household energy bill being £2,500 per year and set to rise to £3,000 from April, it pays to know what appliances are costing you.

We’ve already unveiled the “vampire devices” that drain your energy if left on standby.

Now MoneyTransfers.com has unveiled the top nine devices that break the bank and some might surprise you.

Meanwhile, Gareth Kloet, energy spokesman for comparison website Go Compare, said: “We always encourage our customers to be energy efficient – not just for the environmental benefits, but also to minimize energy costs.

“Turning off the lights when we leave a room, being careful not to leave the TV on standby, and not overfilling the kettle may seem like a small change, but longer-term habit changes like this can have a noticeable impact.”

You can calculate how much a device might cost you by doing a little math.

The equation is: Cost = Power (kilowatts) x Cost of a kWh (pence) x Duration of time (just the one time meal or over a week or a month).

But here are the nine gadgets that cost you the most in the home:

air conditioning

It’s no secret that air conditioning is expensive to run, but apparently it’s the most expensive in the long run, costing homeowners £167.28 a month when used eight hours a day.

Luckily for most of us in the UK air conditioning is rarely needed so you don’t have to worry about it too much.

Electric heaters

While most homes don’t use air conditioning, most of us have used electric heating.

However, wearing one for just two hours a day can cost you £20.40 a month.

You might think that an electric heater would be a cheaper heating alternative to turning on the heater because you can direct the heat towards you and just warm up the space you are using.

But actually, the amount of energy these heaters use can make them an expensive way to keep warm.

You could curl up under a heated blanket instead – Utilita Energy estimates it will cost 10p to run one for an hour a day for seven days.

clothes dryer

According to the pros at MoneyTransfer, a tumble dryer costs around £16.32 for a family of four.

Of course, the price of running it depends on what kind of machine you are using.

When possible, hanging clothes out to dry in the sun or on a drying rack can help save some money.

Just remember that drying your load may take longer depending on the weather.

Washing machine

For a family of four, using a washing machine could cost £12.24 a month – that’s £146.88 a year.

Similar to clothes dryers, the cost largely depends on the make and model of your machine.

A typical UK household washes 270 mammoth loads a year, so making sure you have a machine working for you is a must.

Fridge freezer

Fridges and freezers are the fifth most expensive appliance to operate, costing households £11.56 to operate.

Of course, you can’t just unplug your freezer to save money, but there are other ways to reduce the cost of running your fridge freezer.

Not defrosting your freezer can add up to £150 a year to your bill.

Frost build-up increases the amount of work your freezer motor has to do.

And when the engine works harder, it means it uses more energy.

Kettle

Your fondness for a hot cup of coffee could be skyrocketing your bills more than you thought.

Using your kettle for just 15 minutes a day can cost you £97.92 a year or £8.16 a month.

game console

Using a gaming console like the Xbox One X for four hours a day can cost £7.34 a month or £88.13 a year.

Leaving it on standby can cost you a lot more than you think.

Smart TV

Your Netflix habit could cost you more than just your subscription.

Their smart TV is the ninth most expensive device to own and could cost £3.64 a month or £43.66 a year.

Luckily, there are a few clever ways to save money on running your TV so you can sit back and watch your favorite series guilt-free.

The light bulb

Lighting your home probably costs a lot less than you might have thought.

In fact, according to MoneyTransfer, it’s at the bottom of the list, costing just £2.45 a month assuming four hours of use per day.

It doesn’t seem like much, but that adds up to £29.38 a year.

However, this prince can escalate if you have multiple lights on or fail to turn off lightbulbs in empty rooms.

Do you have a money problem that needs clarification? Email money-sm@news.co.uk