Example Electrcity Cost Savings - Appliances

The examples below have been chosen to represent normal use and to demonstrate some of the savings possible. Although some of the savings are small cumulatively they can make a big difference to the electricity bill.

Appliances On Standby

Appliance		Costs	Saving
Digital Radio (very old) used on average 3Hr/day on Normal Rate electricity (standby consumption 20W, 25W on) over 1 year	-	Left continuously on standby when not in use costs around £23 Switched of at socket after use costs under £5	£24.00
Digital Radio (new) used on average 3Hr/day on Normal Rate electricity (standby consumption 1W, 2W on) over 1 year	-	Left continuously on standby when not in use costs around £1.50 Switched of at socket after use costs around 37p	£ 1.13
Hi-Fi (old) used on average for 1Hr/day on Normal Rate electricity (standby consumption 20W, 100W on) over 1 year:	-	Left continuously on standby when not in use costs around £27 Switched of at socket after use costs around £6	£21.00
TV, DVD and Satellite used on average for 5hrs/day on Normal Rate electricity (standby consumption 14W total, 350W on total) over 1 year.	-	Left continuously on standby when not in use costs around £104 Switched off at socket after use costs around £92	£12.00
Computer and Broadband Router used on average 3 hrs/day on Normal Rate electricity (consumption 16W total, 250W on total) over 2 years.	-	Left continuously on when not in use costs around £122 Switched off after use costs around £95	£27.00
TV Distribution amplifier needed on average 5 hours a day (consumption 4W) over 3 years.	-	Left on continuously costs around £15 Switched on when needed costs around £4	£11.00
Mobile phone charger left on standby for a year (consumption 4W charging, 2W standby)	-	Left on continuously (charging phone 2 hours per day) costs around £2.50 Switched off at the socket when not needed costs around £0.50	£ 2.00
Old digital radio (2007 vintage) used on average 3 hours day for a year (consumption 9W, 2W standby)	-	Left on standby continuously costs around £1.75 Switched off at the socket when not needed costs around £0.83	£ 0.92
New digital radio (2010 vintage) used on average 4 hours day for a year (consumption 2W, 1W standby)	-	Left on standby continuously costs around £0.67 Switched off at the socket when not needed costs around £0.25	£ 0.42
Old LED clock radio plus CD player used on average 1 hour a day for a year (consumption 4W, 3W standby)	-	Left on standby continuously costs around £1.68 Switched off at the socket when not needed costs around £0.12	£ 1.57

Appliance Use

Appliance		Costs	Saving
Boil a 3 litre (1.7 pint) 3KW kettle boiled on average 3 times a day.	-	Filled to maximum (8 cups) costs around 2.2p each time boiled or £5.73 per quarter Filled to minimum (2 cups) costs around 0.8p each time boiled or £2.02 per quarter	£3.71
Large fridge/freezer 2003 vintage with separate compressors used 24 hours a day for a year	-	Radiator on rear never cleaned - average consumption 1.15KW/day Radiator on rear cleaned monthly - average consumption 1KW/day	£46.07
Large fridge/freezer 2003 vintage with separate compressors used 24 hours a day for a year - radiator on rear cleaned monthly..	-	Fridge set to 4C and Freezer set to -20C - average consumtion 1KW/day Temperatures reduced to 4C and -18C respectively - average consumption 900W/day	£30.71

The figures for these examples were calculated using EnCalcE, an electrical saving calculator, which is free to download for personal use. Examples assume: Economy 7 Tariff - Standard rate electricity (18hrs/day) = 15.3825p/KW Hr, Cheap rate electricity (6hrs/day) = 7.2765p/KW Hr (the normal rate is the lower of the two standard rates, both figures include VAT at 5%). Inflation was assumed to be 5%/year which is probably an understatement

To check your electricity bill or predict how much electricity you are likely to use try using EnCalcEU, an electricity use, cost and prediction calculator.