The “how much does this cost to run” thread?

[AtomicBlondeRose]

Based on posts about people thinking of using candles instead of electric lights - which is both dangerous and not likely to save any money, I’d like to set this thread up as a place where people can ask how much items in their house cost to run, to let posters make informed decisions about whether or not to keep using them after energy price rises.

If you want to ask, useful information to have is: the energy usage of the item - eg a heater might say on it that it’s 1000w. If you don’t know that the name/model number as accurately as possible. Also to give you a useful estimate it would be good to know your current gas/electricity price tariff price per unit. However it’s easy enough to work out at current and predicted price cap levels.

I can’t promise to answer everything so please can I call upon other numerate MNers to help out? I think this could be a real lifesaver.

@Nowyouseemenowy0udont - you need to try and find the manual, longer programs are not necessarily more expensive or cheaper as they might have a long soak time (cheaper) or a lot of agitating (more expensive) so can’t make a guess without knowing the model.

I no longer have the manual, I’ve searched online and contacted Candy customer services. It’s a Candy GODF 800/L80.

@UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername - I know very modern ovens are energy-efficient but it doesn’t necessarily stand that old ones are massively inefficient if that makes sense. There’s a limit to how much power they can use really. But I think in general it’s better to avoid using an oven if you have alternatives or don’t need to cook a lot.

Is it this by any chance? manualzz.com/doc/51588956/candy-godf-800-1-80-user-manual

It is, yes! Thanks.

No note of how much it uses though 😬

So my fan assisted oven used 85p an hour while preheating and then switched between 56p and 28p while cooking at 200. 10 minutes preheat and 20 minutes cooking chips and birds eye chicken. Total worked out at 0.87 kWh for the 30 minutes so 1.7 per hour. But if I was cooking something longer like a casserole the per-hour cost would be lower. The manual says 0.92 “per cycle”.

So does anyone know - can I cook 450g chips and 4 chicken grill things in an air fryer? How long would it take?

Someone mentioned the Aldi heated throw. It's 160w (info on fabric label). Using the sust it calculator it's currently 4.48p to run per hour. When I calculated it last winter it was around 3p on my tariff.

www.sust-it.net/energy-calculator.php

How many kwh are people using to heat their hot water each day with a gas boiler?

We are using 9 kwh gas atm which at the oct price cap of 14p is about £1.26 a day or £460 a year. This is for 2 adults and 2 children. Hot water mainly used for showers/baths.

Does this seem a lot? We have the hot water on for 30 min in morning and evening. Thermostat on tank is set to 80 which I know is hot but I think it may be broken as water ferls at correct temperature.

Hmm I dont know mines 13kwh per day gas for gas hob and instant hot water for the sink and showers, so yours is quite a bit less than mine but maybe mines really high?

My husband used to be in charge of the dishwasher, and it would go on almost every night. Some days, it would have a second run, and we also wash up because I have too many things that I don't want to go through the dishwasher. He would use the Eco programme overnight which takes four hours.

Now ... I use the 30 min programme which washes at a higher temp (60 rather than 50) and uses more or less the same amount of electricity (0.9kwh) and less water. Very little comes out needing another wash. We only put it on 4-5 times a week now.

Apparently, a bowl of washing up uses about a third of a unit (gas), and I try to just do one load after dinner and stack up at other times.

How much do you use your gas hob? I read 1 burner uses approx 1.5 kw per hour. So might work out similar to our use.

not sure if this has been posted but LED lights are not good for vision/eyes

Is there much difference in setting washing machine to wash 2/30/40 on an eco cycle?

does anyone regularly use a cold wash?

www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/washing-at-30-degrees/

This page says washing at 30 rather than 40 saves on average 0.2 kWh. That would be 5p at 27.36p/kWh.

Your washing machine manual should tell you - it's not just about temp because different programmes use variable amounts of energy for agitation etc. Also water which matters if you're metered. The best option for my elderly (no eco programmes) machine is 40 deg 30 min wash. The lower temp washes save pennies on electricity but take much longer and use more water.

Same with my dishwasher - the 30 min programme is hotter than the eco programme, but shorter, obviously and uses less water. It uses a fraction more electricity.

Very helpful thread, thanks OP.

I don’t know if this helps anyone that kitted out with Hive in better times like us to make any decisions, but Hive bulbs are 9W.

So, based on the new Oct price cap rates of 52p/kWh, I make that 0.47p per hour, or 4.7p per 10 hours. That works out to approx £1.40 for the ten hours per night for 30 days that @AtomicBlondeRose worked out for the Philips bulb by my calculations.

Hi, just upthread I tested 30 deg and 40 deg eco cycles on my machine and priced the difference at £3 a month for 6 washes a week

Morning!

Just adding this here
www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-are-the-price-cap-unit-rates-/#tool

Worked out tumble dryer price this week £1.31 per cotton cycle full load. It's a bit rubbish so we often have to boost it for things to be dry!

Just bought a dehumidifier as I plan to line dry everything over winter, either inside or on washing line. 4p per hour to run, so 6 hours is 24p.

These are prices pre price cap change, but gives you an idea of the difference!

I've worked out dehumidify will pay for itself in one winter, but has a 5 year warranty so I expect to get many years use out of it.

Sorry this is a really random one but does anyone know if it would be cheaper to use two rechargeable nightlights for my children, than leaving the one ceiling light on outside their bedrooms at night?

Sounds like mine. On 30m am and pm
used for baths /showers mainly

and use 9/10 a day

@WatermelonSugarSigh A modern bulb will be using about 5p on October rates to leave on all night.

What are the rechargeable lights? It depends on their power usage and obviously there’s the cost to buy them in the first place.

Which energy readers did you buy. I don't have a smart meter

@yoshiblue can I ask which dehumidifier you got?

I've ordered the Meaco Arete 12l one from John Lewis, as it was out of stock on their direct store.

We don't have a wider issue with damp, so felt we only needed a small unit.