Appliance Consumption: How Much Energy Does Each Device Use? + Calculator

Appliance consumption

According to the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), the consumption of appliances in a home reaches almost 34% of the annual electricity consumption, which is a lot.

At home, the energy expenditure of electrical appliances such as the fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, the oven or the ceramic hob, are high, but also the television or the famous stand-by, you will see!

Although we have increasingly efficient appliances, as the Eligenio energy advisor tells us… “Even if a household appliance is efficient, if it is used improperly and lacks maintenance, it will still consume a lot of electricity”.

But… Which are the appliances that consume the most?

Appliance consumption table

It is evident that it is difficult to accurately calculate the energy demand of each appliance; factors such as the number of occupants in the home, location, hours of use, whether it is winter or summer, the technology of the appliance itself, etc., play a role.

Even so, and based on real studies (Ref. 1), we can see the summary of the energy consumption produced by each appliance per year:

🟧 Note: Data from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) – Ref. 1. They are mid-range appliances, not new, and continuous analysis on 100 households.

If we rank according to the annual light consumption by household electrical appliances, we have the following chart:

Although heating, hot water production, or air conditioning have not been included, we clearly see that the large appliances are the biggest consumers of electricity in the home.

Some quick conclusions are:

• The appliance that consumes the most at home is the fridge, followed by the chest freezer (if we have one), the dryer, wine cooler, dishwasher, and ceramic hob.
• The silent energy consumption (Stand-by) surprised us with its energy expenditure (210 kWh/year) and only seven devices were counted, imagine if you have more!

🟧 Note: Standby data obtained from Ref – 2 (Whole-House Measurements of Standby Power Consumption) and Ref – 3 (Power consumption in STAND-BY mode)

• Although the fridge is the appliance that consumes the most electricity, the new ones are very efficient. If we have an old one, it should be a priority to renew it.
• The most energy-consuming electronic devices; television, desktop computer (including screen), or game console, have significant energy consumption, even if they don’t seem like it, be careful!

New fridges are highly efficient. If we have an old one, it should be a priority to renew it to lower the electricity bill

It is evident that the usage time of each appliance directly affects energy expenditure, which in many cases is directly related to the occupants of the home.

But also, to a large extent, to the energy label rating of the appliance, especially of the large household appliances (Fridge, dishwasher, dryer, washing machine, etc).

The following diagram shows the savings or excess of consumption of the main appliances labeled according to energy rating compared to the reference class A (Old scale for some appliances) or referenced to the new EU energy scale (Ref – 5) based on the D rating:

🟧 Note: Data from the previous image from the report L’efficacité énergétique dans les ménages. There are many appliances that have not yet transitioned from the old energy scale to the new one.

Ok, we have already learned a lot about the energy demand of appliances, but… How much money do I spend?

Economic cost of appliance consumption

Based on the previous data and for the first 15 household appliances that consume the most electricity, and using the average electricity price at 0.215 €/kWh (Without taxes and established for the Regulated Tariff PVPC for Spain) we would have:

There’s some error here!… If my bill is much more expensive? Well, yes. On the one hand, keep in mind that the different surcharges and taxes that you will have on your electricity bill have not been added, and on the other hand, air conditioning, heating, or hot water production have not been accounted for.

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Mainly, heating is the major energy consumer in homes because the latest modern air conditioning equipment has high energy efficiency.

Do you have doubts about the consumption of any household appliance… Do you want to know how much you spend per day or per month?

Appliance consumption calculator

The following tool allows us to calculate the electrical consumption of an appliance, both by knowing its energy label and by providing the power of the appliance and including the usage time:

Some things you need to know about the calculator:

• We have a tool to check today’s electricity price (For Spain).
• The consumption mentioned on the energy labels of electrical appliances is based on specific conditions of use, temperature, location, etc. That surely do not correspond to the use you can give it at home. In my opinion, the final value should be multiplied by 1.3, and I am applying a low coefficient to be more realistic.
• If we choose to use the energy label, we have the possibility to select three typologies according to the energy label:
  • kWh / Year = Referring, for example, to a fridge
  • kWh / 1000h = Referring, for example, to a television
  • kWh / 100 cycles = Referring, for example, to a washing machine

Keep in mind that the tool only provides an approximate and not exact value of the consumption and electricity expenditure of appliances… Why?

Real electrical consumption of electrical appliances

Although we have based on reports published by official organizations that detail the real energy consumption of appliances in the home. It is important to recognize that it is difficult to obtain the exact energy expenditure.

What factors influence the energy consumption of an appliance?

• Model and energy efficiency: The most modern equipment with better energy classification consumes less.
• Technology: Each manufacturer has its technology and saving modes “the ECO program”.
• Size and capacity: Larger equipment tends to consume more energy.
• Frequency of use: The more an appliance is used, the higher its consumption will be.
• Mode of use: For example, using the eco program on a washing machine or adjusting the fridge temperature can reduce consumption.

To obtain more accurate data on the consumption of your appliances, an energy meter can be used. It is a device that connects between the power outlet and the household appliance, allowing you to measure consumption in real-time.

References:

• Ref – 1. Consumption per appliance from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) on continuous measurements in 100 Households. Download compressed information in zip from https://librairie.ademe.fr/batiment/4473-panel-usages-electrodomestiques.html
• Ref – 2. Stand-By data from the Report Whole-House Measurements of Standby Power Consumption. https://escholarship.org/content/qt6382h54p/qt6382h54p_noSplash_ad25a9cc007e4f3781e33804af60179e.pdf
• Ref – 3. Stand-By data from the Report Power consumption in STAND-BY mode. https://ltl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/10_energy_stand-by_en.pdf
• Ref – 4. Energy label diagram. Data from the report “L’efficacité énergétique dans les ménages”. https://energieberatung-seeland.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Leffacite-energetique-dans-les-menages-detaille.pdf
• Ref – 5. All about the Energy Label by appliances from the EU at https://energy-efficient-products.ec.europa.eu/product-list_en

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