How to Reduce Your Electricity Bill: A Practical Guide by Appliance

The big consumers in the home

• •Electric heating and AC: 1,500–3,000 W, the year's biggest consumption
• •Electric water heater (tank): 1,500–2,500 W, up to 800 kWh/year
• •Tumble dryer: 2,000–3,000 W per cycle (~2–3 kWh)
• •Electric oven: 2,000 W; 1 hour of use = 2 kWh
• •Refrigerator: 100–200 W but runs 24h → 500–900 kWh/year

Small consumers that are always on

Standby and small devices on idle add up unnoticed: the router (10–15 W × 8,760 h = 88–131 kWh/year), the TV set-top box, chargers plugged in unused. Although individual consumption is small, the total can represent 5–10% of the annual bill.

PVPC vs. flat rate: making the most of off-peak hours

If you have a PVPC tariff (hourly market price), electricity is cheaper in off-peak hours (generally overnight). Programming your washing machine, dryer or dishwasher to run from 11pm–7am can reduce those cycle costs by 40–60%. With flat-rate tariffs this trick has no effect.

Measures with the highest return on investment

• •Switching to LED bulbs: 70–80% saving on lighting
• •Good home insulation: reduces heating/cooling costs by 30–50%
• •Installing a smart thermostat: up to 20% saving on heating
• •Energy-efficient appliances (A+++): up to 50% less than equipment from 10 years ago