Which? have warned that while cheap appliances ‘can cost two or even three times as much to use’.

Consumer champions carried out in-depth tests on energy use over a wide range of products – from dishwashers and washing machines to tumble driers, with varying results on how much electricity they use.

And while you’ll often see massive reductions on these appliances in sales, Which? say that some of them can be incredibly costly in terms of how much energy they guzzle.

On their calculations, Which? say: “We presume you’re paying the average rate for electricity as set by Ofgem. To determine how much they cost over a year, we use an example scenario of how often each appliance is used by the average household. So, if you use your appliances particularly often or irregularly, you’ll need to scale our numbers up or down.

“Please note that the average running cost of these appliances depends on individual usage. Note the average running costs were based on this running cost investigation which was published in August 2023 so figures may be subject to change.”

Fan heaters

Which? say that while you may be tempted by the Dimplex Rugged 3kW Fan Heater due to price drops, it will cost you a whopping 87p per hour to run. This means if you use it for four hours a day between November and February, it would set you back £487.20.

In comparison, Which? found that the cheapest running fan heater would increase bills by £328.71. Which? say: “We generally advise using electric heaters for short bursts of time, which is why we publish an hourly calculation of energy use, rather than yearly.”

Washing machines

The consumer champions say: “Although the Hotpoint H8 W946WB washing machine has an A energy rating, in our tests it proved to be far from energy-efficient. Compared to most 9kg-capacity washing machines, the cottons 40°C wash cycle consumes approximately 35% more energy.

“While the average running cost per year for washing machines stands at £59 and the cheapest we’ve tested comes in at £31, this Hotpoint costs £77.24 to run.”

Which? say while the product is £499 to buy, the usage cost could ‘soon add up’.

Dishwashers

While the Beko DIN15X20 dishwasher will cost you in the region of £279, Which? tests found that consumers may have to run a cycle more than once to get their crockery clean. The firm also found that running the main program five times weekly would cost you £79.63 annually – while the cheapest full-sized dishwasher ran at around £40 per year.

Tumble driers

Tumble driers are notorious for running up energy bills, leading more and more people to air dry and line dry their clothing. Which? say: “Take the Hoover HLEV10LG vented tumble dryer, for instance. While it’s priced at a pretty reasonable £305, its annual running cost was nearly £200, making it the costliest choice compared to all others we’ve tested.

“The average annual running cost for condenser tumble dryers costs £127 annually. But if you want to save on your electricity bills, go for an energy-efficient heat pump tumble dryer, which costs £51 on average a year to run.”

Fridge freezers

Which? found the Hisense RB327N4WW1 fridge freezer to stand out as one of the worst performers in terms of energy consumption. While it will set you back around £379 to purchase, the consumer champions racked up an average annual running cost of £101.33 – much higher than the £75 average.

Ovens

Which? say that the recently reviewed Samsung NV7B41307AS built-in oven was disappointing in terms of energy efficiency – and despite a cheap price tag of just £429, the annual running price sat at around £71.19. The average – for context is only £58 per year, but Which? found ovens that run at £47 per year.

Kettles

Which? say: “When it comes to kettles, you can splurge on premium models costing over £100 that have extra features like variable temperature settings. On the other hand, you can go for a no-frills own-brand kettle for around a tenner. Both types can be equally as good at delivering a cuppa.

“You might assume they all cost the same to run, however, looks can be deceiving. The Argos Cookworks Plastic Kettle 825/6344 has a budget-friendly £12 price tag, but it also has a surprisingly high annual running cost of over £40. Though a little pricier, more energy-efficient models are available, as low as £23 a year to run.”

TVs

Which? say that they have tested thousands of televisions over the years, with screen size playing a big part in how much energy they use. The firm, added: “Some 43-inch 4K TVs we’ve tested cost more than £1,000, but the Samsung UE43CU8000 comes in at £343.

“Admittedly that’s an attractive price, but in our tests, it gets just two stars out of five for energy use and has an annual running cost of £26.44. That’s not a huge amount of money, but it’s higher than the average yearly running cost for a TV this size and some TVs can cost less than £11 to run over the course of the year.”

You can read Which?’s full article here.