Kitchen appliances

Cookers are getting more efficient, and our recommended ovens have an 'A' energy rating so they are the most efficient of all; hobs that carry the logo are highly energy-efficient too. Switching your old cooker to an Energy Saving Trust Recommended model over the market average model could save you around £45 over its lifetime.

Microwave ovens are often a much more energy efficient way of cooking items than in the oven. This is because microwaves oven use energy to directly heat your food, whereas electric ovens must also heat the air inside the oven.

Dishwashers can take up a significant chunk of your electricity bill, costing on average around £47 a year to run. Over a year, it costs around £7 less to run an Energy Saving Trust Recommended dishwasher than it does an old, inefficient machine - and it will use less water.

Fridges, freezers and fridge-freezers are switched on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so it's well worth finding models that are energy efficient. Choosing a new Energy Saving Trust Recommended model over the market average will save you around £89 in energy bills and 390 kg of carbon dioxide over the lifetime of the product. Look for the right size and the logo. Energy Saving Trust Recommended refrigeration appliances must all have an A+ or A++ energy rating. However because the energy rating is based upon classification by size, a smaller A rated fridge could use less energy than a larger A+ rated fridge. You can compare the total energy consumption of appliances by looking for their yearly energy consumption in kWh / annum displayed on the bottom right of its energy label.

Kettles are one of the most commonly used appliances in the kitchen. The strict testing for Energy Saving Trust Recommended kettles requires them to use 20% less energy than the average product. On average a UK household boils the kettle 1,500 times a year.

Tumble dryers: Drying clothes outdoors on a washing line or indoors on a rack costs nothing and uses no energy so it is the ideal way to dry your clothes. But if you need to use a tumble dryer, they use a great deal of energy, so choose one with the Energy Saving Trust Recommended label and it will cost less to run, helping you to reduce your energy bill. Choose one that has a sensor that tells when your clothes are dry enough, preventing your clothes from being over dried and the dryer running when it doesn’t need to.

•Gas tumble driers are one of the cheapest and most environmentally friendly type of drier to run. But this type of drier can be slightly more expensive to install as it needs a gas connection.
•Electric heat pump tumble driers are also very efficient as they recycle the heat from the ventilation tube back into the drier, but take away the water vapour from the air.

Washing machines: An energy efficient machine will save you money on to your electricity bill and, if you have a meter, your water bill too. All our recommended washing machines are rated the best in class for energy efficiency, spin efficiency and wash performance.