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How much does it cost to run your appliances? We did the maths.
Energy is something we’d all love to use less of right now. But where do you begin, and how do you know the cost of running everything? It’s not just the obvious appliances, like your washing machine and cooker – what about your laptop, smart speaker, TV, or printer? All these appliances might seem overwhelming, but we can help you figure out how much they cost to run.
Power Rating
Every appliance has a power rating, usually in watts (W) Or kilowatts (kW) - a fancy way of saying 1,000 Watts. This is the amount of electricity it needs to work; the amount of electricity is actually uses depends on how long it’s used for.
So, how do you figure this out? Well, this is where we do a little bit of maths. Don't worry, it's pretty simple. All you have to do is multiply the wattage your appliance uses by the amount of time it’s on for, and then add the cost in electricity. Electricity is sold by the kilowatt-hour (kWh). In other words: W + time + kWh = cost of running the appliance. If you have a 2100W (2.1 kW) washing machine and you run it for an hour, it’ll use 2.1kWh of electricity in that hour. If electricity costs 34p per unit, multiply 2.1kWh by 34p and you get a grand total of 71p. Bingo, that's how much your washing machine costs per hour.
Energy Rating
All appliances are given an energy rating, so you know how efficient they are. They range from A which is the cheapest to run, to G which is more expensive. If you're curious about energy labels, we’ve put together a handy guide to help.
It’s also worth noting that older machines tend to be less energy efficient, so it might be worth upgrading to a new model if you’ve had a washer for more than 10 years. To help you find out how much your new appliance will cost to run, our clever tool, YourEko, makes things easier. This will be displayed alongside Dishwashing, laundry and cooling items on our website.
What is YourEko and how does it work?
It’s an energy savings tool on the AO website which makes it easy to spot energy-efficient appliances when you're shopping. YourEko provides 3 key highlights of energy efficient products. These are:
Energy Savings.
We show how much a product will save in energy costs compared to the least efficient like for like model in the market.
Ratings.
We give products a gold, silver or bronze rating based on their energy savings.
Recommendations.
We provide recommendations based on energy savings that have a clear financial benefit, for example an alternative product may be £20 more, but costs £170 less to run, leaving £150 in your pocket.
How to use YourEko
When you’re searching for a new appliance, the YourEko sign will show whether it’s a gold, silver or bronze-rated model. And that’s not all, you can even click on this and YourEko will display alternatives that are cheaper to run than the model you selected. All you have to do is fill in how often you’ll use the appliance along with your current tariff. From there you'll be able to compare to other appliances and find some savvy savings on those energy bills. Now you've got the insider knowledge to work out just how much it costs to run your appliances. So, you can start saving at home and know what to look out for next time you're shopping for electricals.
