Which appliances use the most electricity at home, and how can you tell?

Find the big users first: that's where the savings are.

The answer in 2 lines. In most homes the biggest electricity users are electric heating (if you have it) and hot water from an immersion heater. Next come fridges and freezers, then washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers, then cooking. Standby and screens use less, but every day. To find out what is happening in your own home, check your smart meter display or app, do the overnight meter test, and measure any appliance you suspect with a plug-in energy monitor.

The 4 steps

Look at your daily use on your smart meter's in-home display or your supplier's app or online account.
Do the overnight test: write down your meter reading at bedtime with everything off except the fridge and freezer, then read it again in the morning.
Measure any appliance you suspect with a plug-in energy monitor: it goes between the plug and the socket and shows how much the appliance uses.
Start with the big users: heating, hot water and an old freezer.

From the biggest users to the smallest

Appliance	Why it uses so much	What to do
Electric heating (storage heaters, panel or portable heaters)	High power, for hours a day in winter.	Heat only the rooms you use, and use timers and thermostats.
Immersion heater (hot water)	It heats a whole cylinder of water.	Use the timer, and heat water at off-peak times if your tariff has them.
Fridge, freezer	They run day and night, all year.	Defrost them, keep them away from the cooker and replace a very old one.
Washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher	Heating water or air takes a lot of energy.	Wash at lower temperatures, use eco programmes and dry outside when you can.
Oven, hob	High power, but for a short time.	Put lids on pans, avoid long preheats and use a microwave for small portions.
TV, games console, router, standby	Little at a time, but 24 hours a day.	Use a switched extension lead and turn off at night what can be turned off.

The Energy Saving Trust, an independent organisation, publishes its own ranking and tips: top five energy consuming home appliances.

Working out what an appliance costs

The formula: power in kilowatts × hours used = kWh. Multiply the kWh by your unit rate.
Example: a 2 kW portable heater left on for 1 hour uses 2 kWh, or about 53p at the average price cap rate of 26.32p per kWh (October to December 2026, Direct Debit). Left on 5 hours a day for a month, that is about £79.
Your own rate: it is on your bill or in your supplier's app. It varies by region, payment method and tariff. The standing charge (54.83p a day on average in this period) is paid whatever you use.

Choosing an appliance that uses less

The energy label: newer labels use a scale from A (most efficient) to G. Look mainly at the energy use in kWh printed on the label (per year, or per 100 cycles for washing machines and dishwashers), and compare appliances of the same size.
The right size: a large freezer that is half empty uses electricity for nothing.
Repair before replacing: a fairly recent appliance that has been looked after is often worth keeping.

What not to do

Running a portable heater all day in a draughty room.
Keeping an old, nearly empty "spare" freezer running in the garage.
Buying an appliance on its letter rating alone without checking the kWh figure.
Expecting that switching off standby will make a big dent in a winter heating bill.

In England

Price cap: Ofgem sets the maximum unit rate and standing charge for default tariffs in England, Scotland and Wales every quarter. From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 the government has removed VAT from electricity bills (gas still has 5% VAT). See the Ofgem price cap page for October to December 2026, which shows the rates for each region.
Smart meters: the in-home display shows what you are using right now. Switch an appliance on and off and watch the figure change.
Northern Ireland has its own electricity market and prices.

Good to know

Reading your display: How to read your smart electricity meter and track usage.
Hot water often costs a lot: What temperature should your hot water cylinder be?.
If your meter is still using a lot at night with almost everything off, an appliance or a fault in the wiring may be the cause: have it checked by a registered electrician.

Hannah, who lives in a two-bedroom flat in Bristol, finds her bill very high. She does the overnight test and sees the meter has moved a lot. With a plug-in energy monitor, she finds that the old freezer in the hall cupboard uses more than her fridge. She empties it, unplugs it and takes it to the council's recycling centre, and her overnight use drops sharply.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 6 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for the unit rate, the standing charge and the removal of VAT on electricity (Ofgem, October to December 2026); high for the general order of the biggest users (heating, hot water, cold appliances, washing and drying, cooking, standby); no percentages are given, because each one's share depends heavily on the home and how it is heated. The cost example is a calculation based on the average rate; your tariff may differ.