Revealed: The true cost of our household appliances

A new report has revealed how much household appliances are costing people each month, along with their environmental impact.

Freezers are the most expensive item in the house, costing, on average, £280 a year, while dishwasher is costing around £53 a year.

The report also revealed that 86 per cent of UK households are now consciously trying to be sustainable.

Recycling, reusing, and repurposing have now become an everyday occurrence in the UK as households try and do ‘their bit’ for climate change and reduce their carbon footprint.

However, with energy use for household appliances tripling within the past 40 years, just how much money and energy could we save by changing to a greener solution?

The new report has revealed that the kitchen is the most likely culprit for carbon and energy usage, due to the amount of appliances the room hosts whilst detailing tips on how to save energy and money.

The list shows that freezers and fridges are, unsurprisingly, the most expensive as both are on 24 hours a day and both cost the average household £280 and £210 a year.

Electric ovens, dishwashers and hobs are all used, on average, for 30 minutes each day.

Electric ovens cost us £58 a month, a dishwasher £53 and a hob £44.

Kettles are only used for an average of eight minutes in total each day but it still costs us £12 a month.

Toasters and microwaves are both used, on average, for five minutes each day and cost homes £7.30 and £4.86 respectively each month.

The report also offers tips on saving energy and money in the kitchen.

Freezer

The best way to reduce energy consumption is to fill the freezer up, because keeping air cold uses more energy than keeping food cold does.

Fridge

To save power, don’t leave the door open when you’re taking food out, as more energy will be needed to reduce the temperature again.

Electric oven

To save energy and money, try not to leave the oven on standby.

Turn it off at the plug between uses.

Dishwasher

Dishwashers often have an energy-saving mode you can use, and you can reduce the temperature to curtail power consumption.

Electric hob

Covering pots and pans with lids will help things cook faster, so the hob will use less energy overall.

Keeping it clean will also help, as burnt food or grease will absorb heat and make it less efficient.

Kettle

To save energy, only boil the amount of water you need.

If you boil more, that energy will just go to waste.

Toaster

The toaster is one of the more minimally used appliances in the kitchen.

As such, the best way to save on both is to buy a reliable toaster, as the production and distribution of a new one will expend more energy.

Microwave

To save energy make sure you are only running the microwave for the recommended time per product.

This not only saves energy but avoids burning food.

When buying a kitchen appliance you can use energy efficiency ratings to determine how environmentally friendly the appliance is during use.

Each appliance is required to have a label which shows a rating from A+++ all the way to D

The higher the rating (closer to A+++) the more efficient the appliance.

The research was carried out by Wren Kitchens.

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