On July 1, the energy price cap increased by 13%. It means that if you are not on a fixed tariff and instead on your supplier’s standard variable tariff, the price you pay for your energy has gone up.
While you may have already tried some methods Save energy at homeThere’s only so much you can do when it comes to devices that you have no choice but to use. And in Heatwave, it’s very portable Air conditioner.
But how much more are you really paying to run a portable AC in this heatwave compared to the heatwaves of May and June? I’ve broken it down for portable air conditioners and other most commonly used appliances. You can also use our new calculator to see how much any of your appliances are costing you. You just need to know the wattage.
|
device |
What were you paying before July 1? |
What are you paying now? |
Price difference |
|
Portable air conditioner |
£0.33 per hour |
£0.35p per hour |
2 p.m |
|
Washing machine |
£0.28 per cycle |
£0.30 per cycle |
2 p.m |
|
Dishwasher |
£0.28 per cycle |
£0.29p per cycle |
1 p |
|
Condenser Tumble Dryer |
£1.17 per cycle |
£1.24 per cycle |
7 p.m |
|
oven |
£0.20 per hour |
£0.21 |
1 p |
|
Air fryer |
£0.37 per hour |
£0.39p per hour |
2 p.m |
Portable Air Conditioner: This is based on a portable AC that uses 1350W in cooling mode. Washing Machine: This is based on a machine using 1.13kWh on a standard cotton 60° cycle. Dishwasher: This is based on a slimline integrated model that consumes 1.12kWh per Quick and Shine 60° cycle. Tumble dryer: This is based on an 8kg capacity, B-rated condenser tumble dryer, which uses 4.75kWh per full load on a standard cotton drying programme. Oven: This is based on an example of a 0.8kW oven. Air fryer: This is based on 1500W basket air fryer.
(Image credit: Future plc/ Sarah Handley)
To check your specific devices that may have a different wattage than specified in the table above, you can use our brand new tool below.
Just pop in your appliance’s wattage, tick whether it’s kilowatts or watts, and if you don’t know how much you pay for your energy, our tool will use the current July 2026 price cap figures. If you want to see what you were paying before the price cap increased, simply enter 0.2467 when asked how much you pay for your energy. This is the price (in pounds) for a unit of electricity under the April 2026 price cap ending on 30 June 2026.
While an extra two pence doesn’t seem like much, add up all the appliances you use in your home and consider how often and for how long you use them and it will soon add up.
And so if you’re shocked at how much more you’re paying now that the new price cap is in place, there are things you can do to cut costs. First, you can check Switching to a fixed price tariff This will reduce how much you pay for the energy you use and protect you from further price increases for the duration of the fix (usually 12, 18 or 24 months). Use a price comparison website like our sister brand go Compare, Compare the market Or Uswitch.
If you’ve already done that, or you can’t find a good deal, then reducing how much energy your appliances use is another way to lower your bills. I have tried multiple tricks so far this year to reduce my energy consumption Haven’t used my tumble dryer for a month, Switching to a cooler washing machine cycleOr choosing a lot Energy-efficient dishwasher mode.
Keeping an eye on vampire appliances that waste energy and turning them off at the wall is another way to reduce your home’s energy consumption and, as a result, your bills.
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