What it costs to run
Pick an appliance and see what it costs at today’s price cap, in your region or on your own fixed rate. Per use, per hour, or across a year.
The short version
- Each cost is the appliance’s power, times how long it runs, times your unit rate, written out in the result card so you can check it.
- The standing charge is left out of the appliance costs, because you pay it whatever you use.
- Change any assumption, such as the minutes or the uses a day, to match your own appliance.
Your price
26.32p per kWh · standing charge 54.83p a day · the average cap rate for Great Britain, direct debit
Pick an appliance
Choose a view
Where it adds up over a year
The six everyday appliances at your price and assumptions. The hatched bar is your electricity standing charge, shown for scale: you pay it whatever you use.
See it step by step
What it costs to run
Step 1 of 6
Power is how fast it draws
Every appliance has a power rating in kilowatts (kW). It is how fast the appliance draws electricity while it runs. A kettle draws 3 kW. A laptop draws 0.05 kW.
Pick one and watch the meter disc and the cable. More power, faster flow.
Figures from the Switch4Good guide, What it costs to run, checked 4 October 2026: appliance settings are the guide's, rates are Ofgem's cap for October to December 2026. 0% VAT on domestic electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027: HMRC Revenue and Customs Brief 10 (2026) and SI 2026/987, checked 4 October 2026. Great Britain only; in Northern Ireland the rate is unchanged.
How the numbers work
Each cost is power × time × your unit rate, written out in the result card so you can check it. The standing charge is left out of the appliance costs because you pay it whatever you use; it’s shown as its own bar for scale. Change any assumption to match your own appliance.
Sources: Ofgem, changes to the price cap, October to December 2026, checked 25 September 2026 (GB average, direct debit, single-rate meter); regional rates from Ofgem’s levelised cap levels, on our regions page; Centre for Sustainable Energy, How much electricity am I using? for appliance power ratings, read 2 October 2026; Energy Saving Trust, Quick tips to save energy at home for the saving ideas, read 2 October 2026. Minutes and uses a day are our own assumptions. Illustrative, not a quote. Electricity only: gas appliances and heating are a different sum.