Ellen Hartwell
Ellen spent six years as a domestic energy assessor in the north west of England, surveying around two thousand homes for EPC ratings and retrofit grants. She now writes Vukla's appliance guides and checks every cost figure against the Ofgem cap before it goes live.
Articles by Ellen
How much does it cost to use hair straighteners in the UK?
A pair of 53 watt hair straighteners costs 0.35p for a 15 minute session at the current price cap and £1.27 over a year of daily use. A ten minute blow dry beforehand costs more than twenty sessions with the straighteners.
EntertainmentHow much does it cost to run a 3D printer per hour in the UK?
A Bambu Lab A1 printing PLA averages 95 watts on the maker's own measurements, which costs 2.5p an hour at the current price cap and 60p for a full day of printing. ABS can double that, and a large printer left idling all year costs more than most people's printing does.
TransportHow much does it cost to charge an e-bike battery in the UK?
Charging a 500Wh e-bike battery from flat costs 15p at the current price cap once charger losses are counted. A 360Wh battery costs 11p, an 800Wh one 24p, and 100 miles of riding comes to roughly 22p, against £5.32 for an electric car charged at home.
LaundryHow much does it cost to run an iron per hour in the UK?
A 2,600 watt steam iron costs no more than 68.4p an hour at the current price cap, and a steam generator between 55.3p and 82.1p. Most of that electricity goes into boiling water, about 19.1p for every litre you turn into steam.
CleaningHow much electricity does a robot vacuum use per month in the UK?
A full recharge of a robot vacuum with a 75 watt hour battery costs about 2.0p, so a daily clean comes to 59p a month at the current price cap. Standby on the dock and a mop drying cycle can add more than the cleaning.
EntertainmentHow much does it cost to run a laptop per hour in the UK?
A typical laptop draws about 32 watts at the wall, which costs 0.84p an hour at the current price cap and 6.7p for an eight hour working day. A MacBook Air idling costs about a tenth of that, and a gaming laptop flat out can reach 6.4p an hour.
KitchenHow much does a coffee machine cost to run per day in the UK?
A bean to cup coffee machine making six drinks a day uses about 0.18 kWh, which is 4.8p a day at the current price cap. A pod machine costs slightly less, and a machine that never switches itself off can cost three times as much.
HeatingHow much does an electric garage heater cost per hour to run in the UK?
A 3kW workshop fan heater costs 79p an hour on full and 39p on its half setting at the current price cap, so a four hour Saturday in the garage costs £3.16. Keeping the garage frost free with a 120 watt tubular heater costs 3.2p an hour, or 76p for a full day flat out.
HeatingWhat does an infrared panel heater cost per hour to run in the UK?
A 600W infrared panel heater costs 15.8p an hour at the current price cap and a 1,100W panel costs 29.0p. Every watt costs the same as any other heater, so the real question is whether a smaller panel keeps you warm.
KitchenHow much does a Quooker tap cost to run per day in the UK?
A Quooker tank uses 10 watts to stay hot, which is 0.24 kWh and 6.3p a day before you draw any water. Two litres of boiling water a day brings the total to about 12p.
HeatingWhat does an electric radiator cost per hour, and is it cheaper than gas?
A 1,100W wall mounted electric radiator costs 29.0p an hour at full output on the current price cap, and Haverland's sizes run from 11.8p to 44.7p an hour. Gas heat costs about a third as much, and the gas standing charge only closes that gap in a home that barely uses heat.
HeatingHow 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.
EntertainmentHow 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.
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.
KitchenHow 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.