Appliance monitoring for energy advisers

This project by National Energy Action aims to obtain more accurate data on how much it costs to run various household appliances.

The energy crisis has brought a much greater focus in the media on energy saving tips, the running costs of electrical appliances and more efficient ways of cooking. Many manufacturers highlighted savings could be made using their technology. Comparing the performance of technologies is not always straightforward and advice provided on savings or running costs can be simplistic. This was often based on the rated power for the appliance and in some cases the consumption of the device can vary while being used.

During the energy crisis, National Energy Action produced an advice leaflet indicating approximate running costs for a range of different electrical appliances based on the Energy Price Cap/Guarantee at the time. This project aims to obtain more accurate data based on a combination of investigating published information from manufacturers and testing of appliances directly using electricity monitors. It investigates not only the consumption but also the patterns of consumption of appliances. It also discusses factors which will affect the level of consumption of appliances. In addition to this report, an updated advice leaflet has been published and a spreadsheet with consumption data for different appliances which were currently on the market.