How to be savvy with power-hungry appliances

Thrifty Irish mammies are finally having the last word: The great “I told you so” of 2023. They’ve been on at us for years to turn off the lights and put on another jumper if we’re cold. They’ve been shaking their heads in despair at their offspring’s reckless attitude to electricity usage, but the tables are turning as the need to lower both our carbon footprints and our energy bills hits home.

From light bulbs to white goods to devices that need charging, our homes are filled with electricity-hungry appliances, and there are plenty of ways to become a little bit savvier (and thriftier) about how we use them.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has a motto: “If it makes things hot, it costs a lot!” In other words, a kettle, an electric shower or a tumble dryer is going to be a major power user. For context, an average electric oven uses 2,500W per hour and costs 50 cent per hour to run, versus a 36in television, which uses 200W per hour and costs 6 cent per hour.

It may seem difficult to make any energy savings on essential appliances, or always-on things like the fridge, but David Slattery, head of marketing with renewable energy provider Pinergy, says being more mindful about the way we use appliances we already have can make a substantial difference: “Boil what you need for your cup of tea and try to avoid excessively opening appliances like ovens and fridges, as they consume a lot of electricity trying to regulate temperatures.”

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Good news for anyone with an air fryer; it’s a sensible choice to use it if you’re only cooking a small amount of food, rather than pre-heating a whole oven.

According to Susan Andrews, marketing manager with SEAI, when we use heavy power consumers is key to being more sustainable. “When it comes to home appliances, be smart with when and how often you use them. Try to avoid running appliances at peak times between 7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm, when electricity demand is at its highest and most carbon intensive.” If your appliances have delay start timers, set them to help avoid peak time usage.

She continues: “If you are buying a new appliance, choose one with a high energy rating as it will be cheaper to run over its lifetime.” It’s worth spending a little extra on those that are A-rated for energy efficiency; the initial outlay will be balanced out by cheaper running costs. New A-rated appliances use 30-55% less energy than a similar D-rated one. Likewise, LED bulbs are significantly lighter on your bills after the initial outlay — coming in at 1.2 cent per hour running costs for a traditional 60W bulb versus 0.1 cent per hour for the LED equivalent.

To make the most of power usage, Andrews advises, “our most used appliances are washing machines and dishwashers, so make sure to run them on their eco settings or at lower temperatures and only turn them on when they are full”.

There has been some debate about whether turning off wifi routers at night is a good idea to save energy; tech experts advise that network operators tend to push updates during the early hours of the morning and turning it off might cause you to miss vital security or feature additions.

Pinergy spends a lot of time working with their customers gathering insights and advising them on curbing power wastage and making efficiency savings. Their domestic customers are using a combination of a smart meter and a phone app to measure and analyse their electricity usage. “Across 2022, we have seen our residential customers reduce their consumption by an average of 7 per cent, which we think is in part due to their access to data and insights on their phone,” Slattery notes. “We are starting to see technologies emerging which allow you to measure individual appliances, which is great and will provide more insights, but knowing how efficient the appliances you have are and how you use them will really help to optimise your consumption.”

While potential savings on individual appliances may only be a few cents per day, they all add up and consistent small savings will make a big dent in your electricity bills over the course of a year.