Choosing energy efficient home appliances

The highest rated gas and electric ovens are A+++. 

A fan-assisted oven is more energy efficient as it helps cook at lower temperatures by circulating the air around the food, while electric hobs are more efficient than gas rings. Look for an oven with a triple-glazed door, as this will keep the heat in and cook food quicker.

Ovens with a pyrolytic ‘self-cleaning’ function can be an energy intensive means of cleaning, which can contribute to higher running costs. This has the oven reach a high temperature to burn off baked-in residue to make cleaning easier.

Microwave ovens can provide a more energy efficient way to cook your food than in the oven. Unlike ovens, microwaves only heat your food and not the air space inside, which means they use less energy to cook your dinner.

Microwaves don’t feature an energy label, so comparing the energy efficiency of different models isn’t as straightforward. However, the power rating of a microwave can show you which models use more energy than others.

Almost 8% of our electricity bill is spent running the dishwasher, typically costing between £35 to £70 and using 33 to 64kgCO₂ (£55 to £105 and 35 to 65kgCO₂ in NI) a year to run a standard sized dishwasher. Slimline dishwashers, however, typically cost between £30 to £55  and use 25 to 49kgCO₂ (£40 to £80 and 25 to 50kgCO₂ in NI) a year to run.

The most efficient dishwashers on the market have an A rating, and cost around £25 and 20kgCO₂ (£35 and 25kgCO₂ in NI) less per year to run than the lowest rated dishwashers of the same size, and they use less water.

These are switched on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They’re some of the longest lasting appliances in our homes, so it’s worth finding energy efficient models.

Energy label scales range from A to G, and choosing a higher rated fridge freezer can have a significant impact on your running costs. Choosing a A-rated fridge freezer over a F-rated unit will save you about £360 and 420kgCO₂e (£770 and 630kgCO₂e in NI) in energy bills over the 17-year lifetime of the product.

However, as the energy rating is categorised by size, choosing a smaller fridge will use less energy than a larger fridge with the same energy rating, and may even use less than a higher rated one. You can compare the total energy consumption of appliances by looking for their yearly energy consumption in kWh/annum (this is displayed under the rating scale on the energy label).

Kettles are one of the most used appliances in the kitchen. A 2021 UK Government study found nearly three quarters of us admit that we at least occasionally boil the kettle with more water than we’re going to use.

Buying an ECO kettle that only boils the amount of water required can use 20% less energy than a conventional electric kettle, or just avoid overfilling and save yourself £10 and 9kgCO₂e (£14 and 9kgCO₂e in NI) a year on your electricity bill.

Drying clothes outdoors on a washing line costs nothing and uses no energy, so it’s the ideal way to dry your clothes. Indoors on a rack can also be a no-cost, no-energy solution, although you should be mindful of the increased risk of condensation. Keep the room ventilated so that that moisture doesn’t turn into damp.

Tumble dryers use an energy label scale of A+++ to D. Choosing an A+++ rated one over a B-rated could save you around £690 and 790kgCO₂e (£1,000 and 850kgCO₂ in NI) over its 13-year lifetime.

If you need a tumble dryer, look for one that has a sensor to alert you when your clothes are dry enough. This will prevent you from wasting energy by over drying your laundry.

Electric heat pump tumble dryers are more efficient again. These recycle the heat from the ventilation tube back into the dryer after removing water vapour from the air.

There are also gas tumble dryers. This type of dryer can be slightly more expensive to install, as it needs a gas connection.

An energy efficient washing machine will save you money on your electricity bill and your water bill (if you have a meter).

Washing machines use an energy label scale of A to G. Choosing an A-rated washing machine over a D-rated one could save you around £95 and 105kgCO₂e (£140 and 110kgCO₂e in NI) over its 11-year lifetime.

Try to wash only when you have enough laundry for a full load, and at lower temperatures, to maximise your savings.

With home working now the norm, many of us will be sitting in front of a desktop or laptop five days a week.

Laptops typically use 85% less electricity over a year than desktop PCs. Choosing a laptop over a desktop and avoiding leaving the laptop in standby could save up to £30 and 25kgCO₂e (£45 and 30kgCO₂e in NI) per year.

Tablets have even lower energy usage: tablets use 70% less power than laptops, on average.

Smart speakers generally cost around £5 and produce 5kgCO₂e (£10 and 5kgCO₂e in NI) per year to run, with most of that cost from running them on standby. It’s worth considering whether you do need them on 24 hours a day. Our testing of the Amazon Echo and Dot revealed lower power usage than expected, with only slightly more energy being used when activated by voice from standby.

Televisions can be the most power-hungry of all entertainment equipment, particularly the largest ones. The larger a television screen, the more energy it will consume, regardless of its energy rating.

The following table includes examples of annual running costs depending on the size of your TV, as well as the CO₂ equivalent saving:

Great Britain

Northern Ireland

In our cost comparison table, even the most efficient 60” television is still more expensive to run per year against the lowest rated 32” television. By choosing a smaller television, you’re generally saving more energy.

LED screens are the most common form of flat-screen TV on the market. LED TVs use an LCD (liquid crystal display) and LEDs provide the backlighting to create the picture.

OLED and QLEDs are similar to LED screens in that they both use an LCD display. The difference with OLED and QLED is that you don’t require backlighting – each pixel lights itself. Both types boast high performance in picture quality, but these do come at an added cost.

Power consumption is mostly dependent on level of brightness and hours of use.

After selecting the smallest TV still suitable, the best ways to save energy are to:

• reduce  your brightness settings to your lowest acceptable limit.
• switch off your TV when not in use.

Many TVs incorporate features to do this automatically, such as light sensors to detect the room’s brightness and adjust the screen accordingly, and sleep timers to switch off the TV after a number of hours of no interaction.

Plasma TV production ended in 2015. And since 2014, lamp lit LCDs (as opposed to LED lit) are in limited production. Both of these TVs use more power than LEDs.