You’ve been using your kettle all wrong – the kitchen appliances that are skyrocketing your energy bill and how to fix it

YOU could unnecessarily add extra money to your bills by using kitchen appliances every day.

There are a few common mistakes to avoid to save money and avoid overspending.

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Note that these will add up over time, but taking action now to reduce your energy use could help you in the long run.

To prepare a cup of tea, all you need is a tea bag and water – and some milk and sugar to taste.

You can’t misunderstand that, can you? Well, every time you fill the kettle more than you need, it costs money.

Overfill it and you’ll boil more water than necessary, costing extra energy and, most importantly, money.

Tashema Jackson, Consumer Champion at Energyhelpline, previously told The Sun: “By adjusting water usage and the temperature you boil your water to, you can save around £6 a year.”

Of course, the exact amount you can save depends on how much you pay for energy and how many cups you drink each day – the more you drink, the more you can save.

For example, according to Uswitch, it now typically costs 17p to run your kettle for ten minutes.

That’s based on one rated at 3,000W, so the exact amount will depend on your particular one.

To save, simply grab the mug you’re using and fill it with water before pouring it into the kettle – so you know you’re only paying for cooking what you’re actually using.

Uswitch added that the savings are only a few pence, but that adds up over the course of a year.

The kettle isn’t the only appliance you might misuse, wasting energy and money – check out the list below and learn how to avoid it.

Use the right ring for your pan

Use the right size ring for the pan you are cooking in to avoid excess heat escaping.

If you can see an electric ring or gas flames, it means the heat is working hard for nothing, heating the air rather than the pan itself.

Placing a 15cm pan on a 20cm ring can waste up to 25% energy.

Defrost your freezer and don’t overstock it

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

Regularly removing excess ice keeps the temperature down so the engine doesn’t have to work as hard.

If you put too much food in your fridge or freezer, the appliance will have trouble keeping the food cold and will use more energy as a result.

Do not leave the oven on longer than necessary

You should turn off the oven a few minutes before the food is ready and let it continue cooking in the remaining heat.

It’s going to take a while to cool down anyway, and that extra heat just goes to waste.

You can also get away with not preheating the oven in most cases.

Most ovens these days heat up quickly, so you’re probably just wasting excess energy.

Use the microwave instead

Sometimes using the microwave is cheaper than the oven.

Gas stoves use more energy than microwaves, so you can use less energy over a shorter period of time to get the same result, especially when reheating food.

Things like jacket potatoes are also cheaper to cook in the microwave because they only take a quick blast compared to the long time it takes to bake them in the oven.

Do not leave devices in standby mode

According to the Energy Saving Trust, a microwave is one of the appliances that “consumes power” when left in standby mode.

Turn it off at the outlet and you could save money on your electricity bill.

This also applies to other appliances that you have in the kitchen.

If you leave them in standby mode, they will continue to use electricity in your home, so you are guaranteed not to waste energy unnecessarily by unplugging the devices from the wall.

Wash at a lower temperature

According to the Energy Saving Trust, switching from a 40 degree wash to a 30 degree wash could save an average of £12 a year in energy costs.

But if you use your washing machine a lot, you can save even more.

If you normally wash your clothes at an even higher temperature than this, you can save even more by turning the regulator down.

Uswitch energy expert Will Owen previously told The Sun: “Use a chilled water or 30°C program whenever possible.

“Only with particularly dirty clothing, bad stains or underwear do you probably need warmer temperatures.”

If your machine is only half full, you might also want to wait before hitting the start button.

If you wait until you have a full load of laundry, you’ll likely end up doing fewer washes year-round.

Which one? found that one big wash four times a week reduces energy use by 17% compared to someone doing three smaller washes a day.

Wait for your dishwasher to fill up

According to uSwitch, you should wait until the machine is full before charging – otherwise you’ll waste half the energy.

The comparison website also says that using an Eco setting (which most dishwashers now have) can save up to 20% in energy use per wash and that a pre-wash isn’t necessary.

Turn on the correct setting

Many are unaware of the clever settings available on their dishwashers, washing machines, ovens and more to save energy and lower your bills.

Making some simple changes to the way you use your dishwasher, boiler, washing machine and dryer can save up to £372 a year on your bills.

Check out our guide to learn the exact settings for each device, how much you’ll save, and more.

How to use your radiators properly so you don’t waste money.

And here’s a little-known Boiler trick that slashed one woman’s bill by almost £100 a month.