If you’re looking to save money on your gas and electricity bills then it helps to know which appliances are causing the biggest drain on your energy usage. As always, you should be using an energy price comparison site in order to evaluate tariffs, but having an idea of how your lifestyle choices also affect your energy bill can help compound the savings when you switch supplier.

UK households have an average of 40-50 electrical appliances. Here we give you a rundown of the worst offenders when it comes to energy consumption, and give you a few tips on how you can curb their drain on your wallet.

Electric Heaters

Electric heaters are notorious for running up your energy bill. They are very expensive way to heat an area, so if you do use electric heaters it could be worth your while trying to explore alternative methods of heating. This can be as simple as wearing extra clothing or using a hot water bottle.

If you’re using an electric heater excessively because your house isn’t very good at keeping the heat in, then getting wall and roof insulation can be an cost-efficient solution in the long term – despite the initial outlay.

Either way, using an electric heater for just two hours a day will cost you a whopping £200+ a year, adding about £16-17 per month to your electricity bill. In short: find a way to ditch the electric heater, or seriously limit its use.

Tumble Dryers

The case against tumble dryers is fairly simple: you don’t really need one. Drying your clothes on a drying rack is a free alternative, and really doesn’t take as long as you’d think if you keep it in a warm, well-ventilated room. You can also use your radiators to get things dry quickly, and during the summer you can utilise what little sun we get here in Britain to get the job done.

If you do insist on having the convenience of a tumble dryer, then you’re adding anywhere from £40 to £140 to your annual energy bill.

Dehumidifiers

If you can avoid having to use a dehumidifier you’ll be saving yourself around £76 a year. Some people do rely on dehumidifiers for health or comfort reasons, so in that case it is best to shop around to find an energy efficient model if you don’t want it to cost you a serious amount of money to run.

If you’re using a dehumidifier to treat a problem in a room, such as mould or damp, then it can help to keep the area ventilated to allow moisture to dissipate. Also spread out shower curtains or towels so that there is more room for the water to evaporate, and so it doesn’t become a prime location for mould or damp. Choosing to use a dehumidifier will actually cost you more than your fridge-freezer in most cases, so it’s really something to think about.

Fridge-freezers

Speaking of fridge-freezers, they too are a major drain on your household energy. The problem is, you can’t really do without one (we think). So when it comes to saving money on the amount of money you spend on running your fridge-freezer, we need to start thinking about efficiency.

Making sure you’ve selected an energy-efficient model, at a size that is appropriate to your needs will go a long way towards cutting your energy costs. Also, make sure all the seals are intact, and be sure to keep the compartments at the correct recommended temperatures (4˚C for the fridge and -18° C for the freezer).

Regularly defrosting your fridge could save you around £100 annually as it won’t have to use so much energy to keep your food cold.

Televisions

Another somewhat essential item in the modern household is to Select proper LED TV wall panel designs for your Television. so simply cutting it out may not be an option. It may come as no surprise that larger TVs cost more money to run, so if you can make do with a smaller screen you’ll be saving yourself some cash.

Also bear in mind that LCD screens are cheaper to run than fancy plasma screens, and turning off your TV instead of putting on standby can also cut the amount of energy that your television uses.