Universal running cost calculator
Any appliance, any tariff. Put in the watts and the hours, switch between pounds and dollars, and the four figures update as you type.
Kitchen
How much does it cost to run an electric oven per hour in the UK?
A standard oven cycle uses 0.87 kilowatt hours and costs about 23p at the current price cap. A full hour from cold, including the preheat, comes to roughly 30p, and the second hour costs less than the first.
KitchenSlow cooker against oven, what eight hours on low really costs
Eight hours on low in a 200 watt slow cooker costs 42.1p at the current price cap. That beats a long oven braise comfortably, and it does not beat a short roast at all.
KitchenAir fryer against oven, what each one really costs per meal in the UK
An air fryer costs about 19p for a 25 minute cook. An electric oven costs about 23p for a full cycle. The saving is real, but it is smaller than the headlines and it disappears with a big family meal.
KitchenHow much does a microwave cost to run per hour, and per reheat?
A microwave costs about 34p an hour at the current price cap, but a five minute reheat is only 2.9p. The catch is that the wattage on the door is not the wattage you pay for.
KitchenHow much does it cost to run a halogen oven for an hour, and does an air fryer beat it?
A 1300 watt halogen oven costs 34.2p an hour at the Ofgem cap rate and 17.1p for a half hour roast. That undercuts an air fryer at 46.1p an hour and a built in electric oven on a full cycle.
KitchenHow much does it cost to run a dishwasher per load, against washing up by hand?
A full size dishwasher on eco uses about one kilowatt hour a load, which is 26.3p at the Ofgem cap rate. Washing the same load by hand costs less if you heat the water with gas, and more if you heat it with an immersion heater.
KitchenHow much electricity does a kettle use per month, and what does it cost?
Six boils a day on a 3 kW kettle uses 27.3 kilowatt hours a month, which costs £7.19 at the Ofgem cap rate. Filling it to the line you need instead of to the top is the saving nobody bothers with.
KitchenHow much electricity does a fridge freezer use per day in the UK?
A 317 litre frost free fridge freezer uses 0.71 kilowatt hours a day, which is 18.6p at the Ofgem cap rate, or £5.66 a month. An old unit rated at 450 kilowatt hours a year costs 32.4p a day, and the gap is £51 a year.
KitchenHow much does it cost to run a chest freezer per month in the UK?
A 298 litre chest freezer uses 231 kilowatt hours a year, which is £5.07 a month at the Ofgem cap rate. A small 104 litre model costs £4.67 and a tired old unit can reach £8.77, and the energy label tells you which one is sitting in your garage.
Heating
How much does it cost to run a heated towel rail in the UK?
A 250W electric towel rail costs 6.6p an hour at the current price cap and about £7.90 a month on a four hour daily timer. Left on around the clock at full output it would cost £47.38 a month, which is why the timer matters more than the wattage.
HeatingWhat does a fan heater cost per hour to run in the UK?
A 2kW fan heater costs 52.6p an hour on full at the current price cap and 26.3p on the half setting. Cool blow costs about a penny, and three hours a night for a month comes to £47.38 if the thermostat never cuts in.
HeatingHeated throw against central heating, what an evening on the sofa costs
A heated throw costs about 3p for a three hour evening, using Dreamland's own published energy figure. Running the gas boiler for those same three hours costs about £2.39, which is 80 times more.
HeatingHow much does it cost to run a fan overnight in the UK?
A typical 50 watt fan running for eight hours costs 10.5p at the current price cap. A low energy DC fan on a gentle setting costs a penny and a quarter, and a portable air conditioner doing the same job costs £2.32.
HeatingHow much does it cost to run an electric blanket per hour in the UK?
A single electric underblanket rated 70 watts costs 1.8p an hour at the current price cap. On the low setting most people sleep with, the same blanket costs 0.7p an hour and under £2 for a month of nights.
HeatingHow much does a portable air conditioner cost per hour in the UK?
A portable air conditioner costs about 29.0p an hour at the current price cap, or £2.32 for an eight hour night. A fan does part of the same job for a twentieth of that.
HeatingWhat does a 2kW oil filled radiator cost per hour in the UK?
A 2kW oil filled radiator costs 52.6p an hour at full output on the current price cap. On the thermostat it costs roughly half that, and gas central heating does the same job for a third.
HeatingHow much does it cost to run a dehumidifier 24 hours a day in the UK?
A 12 litre dehumidifier left on all day costs between 82p and £1.25 at the current price cap, and most homes never need to leave it on that long.
HeatingHow much does it cost to run an electric shower for an hour, and per shower?
An 8.5 kW electric shower costs £2.24 to run for a full hour at the Ofgem cap rate, and 29.8p for a normal eight minute shower. The kilowatt figure on the front of the unit is all you need to work out your own.
HeatingHow much does it cost to run an immersion heater per hour in the UK?
A 3 kW immersion heater costs 79.0p an hour at the Ofgem cap rate, and heating a full 120 litre cylinder from cold costs £1.65. A gas boiler does the same job for about 59p, which is why the immersion is usually the backup rather than the plan.
HeatingHow much does an electric fireplace cost per hour, flame only and with heat?
The flame effect on its own costs about a third of a penny an hour on an LED model. Switch the heater on and the same fire costs 47p an hour, which is 128 times more.
Laundry
Heated airer against tumble dryer, which is cheaper to run per load?
A 300W heated airer costs about 32p for a four hour session. A tumble dryer costs about 66p a load. Here is the full arithmetic, and the catch nobody mentions.
LaundryHow much does it cost to run a tumble dryer per hour in the UK?
A vented or condenser tumble dryer costs about 66p an hour at the current price cap, and a typical load costs the same because a typical load takes about an hour and a half.
LaundryHeat pump against condenser tumble dryer, the real cost per load
A heat pump dryer costs about 39p a load against 66p for a condenser, but the per hour figure everyone quotes is wrong because the compressor never runs flat out.
LaundryHow much does it cost to run a washing machine per load in the UK?
A typical washing machine uses 0.68 kilowatt hours on a 40 degree cotton wash, which is 17.9p at the Ofgem cap rate. An A rated machine costs 13.4p and drying the same load in a tumble dryer costs nearly four times the wash.
Entertainment
How much does it cost to run a TV per hour in the UK?
A 55 inch LED TV draws about 79 watts on a standard picture, which costs 2.1p an hour at the current price cap and £30 for a year of four hour evenings. A 32 inch set costs a third of that, and an 85 inch set twice as much.
EntertainmentDoes leaving a phone charger plugged in cost anything at all?
A charger left in the wall with no phone on it costs about 23p a year at the current price cap. The broadband router next to it costs £23.06 a year, which is where the attention belongs.
EntertainmentHow much does it cost to run a PS5 per hour in the UK?
Sony's own measured figures put a PS5 at 215 watts in game, which is 5.7p an hour at the current price cap. A three hour session costs 17.0p and rest mode costs about £4 a year.
EntertainmentHow much electricity does a Wi-Fi router use per month if you never switch it off?
A 10 watt router left on around the clock uses 7.3 kilowatt hours a month and costs £1.92 at the current price cap. Here is the arithmetic and why switching it off overnight can backfire.
EntertainmentHow much does it cost to leave a TV on standby for a year?
A television on standby all year costs between 69p and £2.31 at the current price cap, and the router sitting next to it costs twenty times more.
EntertainmentHow much electricity does a gaming PC use per month in the UK?
Three hours of gaming a day on a mid range build costs about £9.48 a month at the current price cap. Leaving the same machine idling around the clock costs another £15 on top, which is the part nobody budgets for.
Garden
How much does it cost to run a hot tub per month in the UK?
An inflatable hot tub held at temperature uses 17.45 kilowatt hours a day on the maker's own test, which is £4.59 a day and £139.70 a month at the Ofgem cap rate. Winter costs more, and switching it off between soaks rarely pays.
GardenHow much does it cost to charge an electric car at home per month in the UK?
Charging at home on the standard price cap rate costs about £43 a month for a Tesla Model 3 doing 800 miles, or £49 for a Nissan Leaf. Move the same charging to an overnight EV tariff and the monthly figure drops to about £13.
GardenHow much electricity does a fish tank use per month in the UK?
A 200 litre tropical tank uses about 44 kilowatt hours a month, which is £11.52 at the current price cap. A small 60 litre tank costs about £5, and the heater is responsible for most of both figures.
What the eight most asked about appliances cost
| Appliance | Typical draw | Usage we assume | Per hour (UK) | Per usage (UK) | Per month (UK) | Per hour (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air fryer | 1750 W | per 25 minute cook | 46.1p | 19.3p | £4.19 | 32.1 cents |
| Vented or condenser tumble dryer | 2500 W | per 90 minute load | 65.8p | 65.8p | £8.55 | 45.9 cents |
| Dehumidifier | 151 W | per 6 hour session | 4.0p | 23.8p | £7.23 | 2.8 cents |
| Electric kettle | 3000 W | per 3 minute boil | 79.0p | 3.9p | £7.19 | 55.0 cents |
| Dishwasher | 1400 W | per eco cycle | 36.8p | 26.3p | £5.70 | 25.7 cents |
| Washing machine | 700 W | per 40 degree cotton wash | 18.4p | 17.9p | £3.10 | 12.8 cents |
| Electric shower | 8500 W | per 8 minute shower | £2.24 | 29.8p | £9.05 | $1.56 |
| Oil filled radiator | 2000 W | per hour on full output | 52.6p | 52.6p | £79.84 | 36.7 cents |
Rates: Ofgem cap 1 October to 31 December 2026 at 26.32p per kWh (source), EIA residential average June 2026 at 18.34 cents per kWh (source). Checked 2026-09-22.