With the cost of energy soaring in recent years, many households are looking to reduce their usage and bills. One way to achieve this is to improve the energy efficiency of their appliances.
Let’s take a look at appliances that can add a significant amount to your energy bills.
Refrigerators
Your refrigerator constantly consumes energy—and it’s not like you can unplug it when you leave the house! Older models can often be particularly expensive and use outdated technology to keep food cool.
However, refrigerators have become much more energy-efficient in recent years, so it’s worth checking if you can save money by upgrading.
Wi-Fi Routers
Another household appliance usually running 24/7, Wi-Fi routers can use significant energy to keep devices connected to the Internet.
You can save money by powering down your router when you know you won’t be using it. Many offer you the option to automatically do this during these times, for example, by going into standby mode overnight.
Air Conditioners
With temperatures rising year after year, air conditioners have become essential for the home.
While there’s nothing better than feeling cool and comfortable during the summer, this comes at a cost: air conditioners are usually very expensive to run.
You can reduce this cost by ensuring that the temperature settings are correct and that the air conditioner is turned off when not needed.
Televisions
As televisions get bigger, they consume more energy. If your TV is both a larger and older model, it is likely to need a lot of electricity to run, even in standby mode.
Check if your television has settings that can help you with this. Many TV sets offer low-energy modes or sleep timers that can reduce the impact on your bill.
Streaming Devices
Streaming devices bring so much entertainment into your home, from blockbuster movies to addictive TV shows, but they can also drain your wallet through higher household bills.
Streaming devices still use energy while in standby mode, so you can save money by turning them off when they are not in use.
Coffee Machines
You can save a lot of money by making your morning coffee instead of buying it from your local coffee shop. However, leaving it on all day can be expensive.
Keeping coffee warm for hours can use a lot of energy, so make sure that you are going to drink it if you do that!
Electric Ovens
Despite the added convenience, cooking with electric ovens and stovetops can be much more expensive than using older gas ovens, particularly when cooking for an extended period of time.
Maximizing residual heat, such as turning your oven off slightly before the cooking time ends, can save you money. Your oven may also have an eco mode.
Hair Dryers
If you regularly use hair dryers, then they could increase your energy bills, particularly if used for long periods in high-heat settings.
Many hair dryers have eco settings that use less electricity, and using hair dryers in shorter bursts will also do this. However, towel drying will save even more money!
Space Heaters
In cold weather, heating the house can take longer, making it tempting to grab the space heater to speed things up.
Be careful, though. Space heaters use a lot of power to warm up the room, and if you use them regularly, you could end up with a hefty bill.
Dryers
Clothes dryers are one of the most energy-intensive appliances in the home, and older models are particularly bad for this.
Heat pump clothes dryers are often less expensive to run than more traditional condenser clothes dryers. And the old-school method of using clotheslines when the sun is out is even cheaper!
Desktops
Desktop computers consume far more energy than laptops and tablets and often need to be on all day if you are studying or working from home.
Please remember to power the desktop down at the end of your session so that it does not impact your bills when not in use.
Dishwashers
Never having to hand wash dishes again is something that we can all aspire to. Yet, while a dishwasher can help you achieve this goal, your energy bills will increase if you have one installed.
Make sure to compare energy efficiency ratings when choosing which model of dishwasher to buy.
Chargers
Chargers are essential to modern life, keeping our phones, tablets, laptops, and other mobile devices ready for use. However, many people don’t consider that chargers continue to use energy when plugged in, even if they are not connected to a device.
If you can, unplug your chargers when you are not using them to reduce your household energy use.
Vacuum Cleaners
While higher-wattage vacuum cleaners usually offer better performance than their less-powerful counterparts, they require much more energy to use. Added to this, if your vacuum cleaner has a turbo mode, then its power consumption will increase even more.
Look for eco settings on your vacuum cleaner for a more energy-efficient clean.
Washing Machines
Washing machines can be expensive, particularly if you need them to wash clothes all day.
You can reduce this energy consumption by not overloading your washing machine, switching to cold washing programs, or turning the temperature setting down slightly. Read the manual for tips on how to use your washing machine in an energy-efficient way.
