Four energy-guzzling appliance switches that could save up to £68 on energy bills
All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue.
ENERGY bills have risen for millions across the UK but you can cut costs by switching up what household appliances you use.
The average households' yearly bills will go up to £2,500 from £1,971 since the Energy Price Guarantee has come into effect.
Everyday appliances like ovens, tumble dryers, halogen lights and hobs might be commonplace, but they can churn through energy.
If you're not careful, it can see your costs rack up and see you forking out hundreds more than you should be.
With the cost of living crisis firmly gripping the UK, we've compiled a list of some of the most energy-guzzling appliances and the easy switches you can make to save on your bills.
Of course, one thing to bear in mind is that the costs below are based on how much the average appliance will use up in energy - you could save more or less depending on how much energy you normally use.
READ MORE IN ENERGY STORIES
It also depends on which appliances you have or use more often, but it's worth taking note anyway.
Here's our top four appliances to look out for.
Tumble dryer
According to experts, running the tumble dryer consumes 1.14kWh on average, which costs around 38p per cycle under the energy price guarantee.
So, if you ran a cycle every second day, it would cost about £68 a year.
But heat pump models can be more energy efficient, again depending on your usage.
In warmer weather, hang your clothes outside to dry if you can.
Some also prefer to use a heated clothes airer.
These are miniature devices that you plug in - the bars inside heat up and help dry your clothes quicker.
It's roughly 10p per hour to run a 300w clothes airer - if you had it on for four hours, it would cost 40p.
Another alternative is using a dehumidifier - it costs 11.9p to run one for an hour.
But remember, exactly how much you'll be paying to run your dehumidifier depends on the model, and how often you use it.
For example, one Sun reader was paying £550 a year to keep her dehumidifier running round the clock all year.
Kettle
A cup of tea is morning must-have for millions of people, but if you're using your kettle wrong, you could be boiling up your energy bills.
Overfilling the kettle and leaving it on standby are two ways you might be wasting cash
The more water there is in your kettle, the harder it has to work to get it to boiling point. And that's a waste of energy if you're only making one cuppa.
Figures now show that boiling 300ml of water in a kettle will cost 1.56p under the current energy price guarantee. So making two cuppas in one day would cost just over 3p.
But using a covered pan on a gas hob once costs 1.15p.
That means it would cost you £2.18 a week if you boiled your kettle twice a day, but just £1.61 a week if you did the same but boiled the water on a gas hob.
To avoid spending too much, get your mug, fill it with water and pour that into your kettle - this way you are only heating up the water you're wanting to use.
Meanwhile, according to Utilita, leaving a kettle switched on at the wall adds around a fiver to your annual energy bill.
Air fryer
Under the new price cap, using an air fryer for 15 minutes costs 13p.
But running an oven for an hour now costs 21p - so an air fryer could be more expensive if you use it a lot.
It also depends on what you cook - an energy expert told The Sun if you're cooking breaded chicken, it'll be cheaper to make it in an air fryer as opposed to an electric oven.
You could consider using the microwave instead as these are much cheaper to run, or switch off your oven or air fryer at the wall when you know you're not using it.
Halogen bulbs
It costs 0.09p per hour to run on Halogen/non-LED light bulbs, again depending on how often you have you lights switched on for.
But running on LED lights could cost as little as 0.02p - in fact, one bill payer saved £40 a month on energy by using all LEDs.
You can buy them for as little as £1 in bargain retail places like B&M or Home Bargains, but it's worth noting this may be the cost of a single bulb.
Otherwise, smart meters can help monitor what you use and make sure you're not forgetting to switch the lights off when you're not in.
More ways to save on energy bills
Switching all plugs and sockets off - we spoke to an expert who saved £180 a year with this hack
Meal prepping could also cut your food bills in half to roughly a tenner a week
You could try cutting down on bills you no longer need to pay - read more about that here.
If you turn your thermostat down by one notch, it can help lower your bills by a whopping £80 a year.
And keeping it at a steady temperature will save even more.
There's also a one-off fuel voucher from your energy supplier if you're on a prepayment metre.
All UK households are also set to receive the £400 energy bills rebate this month.
The payment will be made up of six discounts between now and March next year.
Households will receive a £66 energy bill discount this month and November and a discount worth £67 in December, January, February and March.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
We tallied up six energy-saving hacks to help you stay conscious on your energy usage - some of those include tin foil behind the radiator and insulating your pipes.
You can also read a full list of bill help you could be eligible for now the energy price guarantee has hit.