How much electricity do household appliances use

1) New Appliances VS Old and Energy Efficiency

In general, new appliances will be more energy efficient than old appliances. Many appliances also now come with an energy efficiency rating to help you decide which to purchase when looking for new appliances. The appliances that use the most energy will be those that contain heating elements such as kettles, toasters, and cooking appliances. The overall energy consumption for each use of the appliance will vary based on the amount of time you use the appliance for and the setting that you have on each appliance.

2) Common Appliances and your Energy Bill

Below is a list of the most common household appliances in homes and their associated likely cost of electricity when running. We will look at the typical power rating for each appliance and the average electricity usage rates per hour of operation assuming maximum power usage. We will also look at the typical cost per use of each appliance. 

Whilst some appliances may seem very expensive to run for an hour based on their total wattage or maximum amount of power, it’s unlikely that you would boil an electric kettle for an hour continuously so the cost per cycle will be much lower than the cost per hour to run. 

Here are the averages.....

3) Kitchen Appliances

Air Fryer - 1500 Watts

Blender (worktop) - 1200 watts

Bread Maker -  700 watts

Coffee Machine - 1000 watts

Deep Fat Fryer - 1000 watts

Dishwasher - 1800 watts

Electric Griddle - 1700 watts

Electric Hob (4 ring) - 7000 watts

Food Processor - 800 watts

Freezer - 50 -80 watts

Fridge-Freezer - 120 watts

Ice Cream Maker - 50 watts - 800 watts

Juicer - 300 watts

Kettle - 1800 watts

Microwave Oven - 800 watts

Refrigerator - 50 - 80 watts

Rice Cooker - 500 watts

Slow Cooker - 200 watts

Toaster (4 slice) - 1600 watts

4) Laundry and Cleaning Appliances

Clothes Steamer - 1200 watts

Dishwasher - 1800 watts

Handheld Vacuum - 180 watts

Iron - 1200 watts

Robot Vacuum - 80 watts

Steam Mop - 1400 watts

Tumble Dryer - 2300 watts

Vacuum Cleaner - 1800 watts

Washer - Dryer - 2300 watts

Washing Machine - 1900 watts

5) Lighting 

Ceiling Lights - 5 - 50 watts

Chandelier Lights 20 - 60 watts

Desk Lamps - 2 - 20 watts

Fairy Lights - 2 - 5 watts

Floor Lamps LED - 3 - 8 watts

LED Lightbulbs - 2 - 10 watts

Outdoor LED Security Lights - 10 - 100 watts 

Outdoor Halogen Security Lights - 150 - 500 watts

Smart Bulbs - Up to 15 watts

Table Lamps - 2 - 20 watts

Wall Lights - 5 - 20 watts

6) Living Room Appliances

Blu Ray Player - 8 - 50 watts

DVD Player - 5 - 40 watts

Gaming Console - up to 100 watts

Hi-Fi system - up to 70 watts

Smart TV Box - 7 - 15 watts

Soundbar - 40 watts

Speakers - 2 - 10 watts

Streaming Device - up to 5 watts

Subwoofer - 10 - 40 watts

Television - 100 watts

7) Office or Study Appliances

Desktop Computer - up to 750 watts

Desk Fan - up to 25 watts

Keyboard - up to 1 watt

Laptop - 30 - 70 watts

Mouse - 0.5 watts

Printer - up to 200 watts

Scanner - up to 25 watts

Shredder - up to 200 watts

USB splitter / hub - up to 5 watts

Wi-Fi Router - 5 - 20 watts

8) Bedroom Appliances

Air Purifier - 50 watts

Bedside Lamp - 2 - 5 watts

Electric Blanket - 150 watts 

Electric Heater - 2300 watts

Hair Curler - 1500 watts

Hair Straightener - 150 watts

Hairdryer - 1800 watts 

Portable Fan - 5 - 100 watts

Alarm Clock - 2-3 watts

Dehumidifier - 25 -  600 watts

9) Bathroom Appliances

Backlit Vanity Mirror - 5 watts

Bathroom Extractor Fan - 5 - 35 watts

Bathroom Heater - up to 1000 watts

Bidet Toilet Seat - 600 - 1400 watts

Electric Shaver - 5 -15 watts

Electric Toothbrush - 5 - 7 watts

Electric Towel Rail - 200 - 1000 watts

Hair Trimmer - 10 - 60 watts

Shower Pump - 100 - 600 watts

Water Heater (Immersion) - 2000 - 3000 watts

10) Other Home Electronics and Devices

Doorbell Camera - 8 - 25 watts

Electric Fan Heater - 1200 - 2400 watts

Electric Radiator - 1200 - 3000 watts

Hedge Trimmer - 400 - 800 watts

Home Security Camera - 7 - 12 watts

Lawn Mower - 1200 - 1800 watts

Outdoor Patio Heater (Infra-Red) - 1200 - 3000 watts

Power Drill - 200 - 1500 watts

Smart Plugs - 1 - 2 watts

Smart Thermostat - 2 -7 watts

11) Entertainment and Hobby Appliances

Drone Battery Charger - 20 - 200 watts

E-Bike charger - 30 - 90 watts

Electric Guitar Amplifier - 20 - 100 watts

Electric Scooter Charger - 20 - 120 watts

Karaoke Machine Home - 5 - 25 watts

Piano Keyboard - 10 - 20 watts

LED Strip Lights - 5 - 20 watts

Sewing Machine - 25 - 130 watts

12) How to reduce energy bills with appliances

Where you find that your appliances are using too much energy it’s important to check if you have the most efficient models. Home appliances tend to become more efficient over time as new technology enables them to carry out their tasks whilst using less energy. Also consider just HOW you are using your appliances. Make sure if you are using the washing machine that you wash a full load, if you are boiling a kettle then only boil enough water for what you need and instead of using electric ovens to cook small meals, consider a smaller home appliance.

13) Does Appliance Wattage = Power Consumption?

The most accurate figure to check when asking HOW MUCH POWER DO HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES USE? is the Kw/h figure. This will more accurately reflect the likely energy use during a normal cycle of an appliance or throughout typical operation. An appliance will use minimal energy when in standby mode compared with running at full capacity.

(PHOTO: A kettle using its full power)

A powerful appliance like a washing machine will not use its full power rating throughout the whole cycle. It will draw maximum power during the portion of its cycle where it heats water and a reduced level of power whilst tumbling the washing around. On the other hand, an electric heater will draw its full power for the duration of its operation time. This is why it’s important to check the kw/h figures for each appliance as well as the total wattage.

14) Which electrical appliances use a lot of electricity?

The most power is used by appliances that contain heating elements. There is no way to achieve electric heating without high electricity consumption. So, tumble dryers, washing machines, electric heaters, kettles, toasters, ovens (and more) all have heating elements. These heating elements are likely to draw a lot of power when running. The power usage of appliances with heating elements will always be higher than that of small electronic appliances for instance. Usage time should be minimised for appliances that demand so many watts of electricity!

15) Which appliance uses the most electricity?

Commonly, the hot water heater in our homes will use the most electricity. This also includes electric showers. A large electric shower will demand over 10'000 watts (10Kw) for the duration of its operation time. No other appliance will likely come close to this level of demand. In 2025, electric boilers are becoming more common and until now, the shower was the largest appliance likely to be found in our homes. Electric boilers can demand up to 12Kw when in use which would be the maximum that any one electrical appliance could ever take from a standard single phase domestic electrical supply. 

16) Can I use large appliances on an extension cord?

Generally, large and power hungry electrical appliances should not be used on an extension lead. Such use could cause the extension lead to fail (or even cause an electrical fire. Extension cords and power strips are designed for temporary use and great care should be taken not to overload them. 

17) Summary

All household appliances use a different amount of power. The wattage rating of each appliance is not necessarily an indication of its continued “in use” power consumption. To get a true idea of the costs of electricity for running each appliance, you should consult the manufacturer to establish the cost per cycle in Kwh of the appliance.