Nearly half of adults in the UK have no idea how much electrical appliances in their home are contributing to their energy bill, according to new research from Utilita. 

As more people have spent longer periods at home they have seen an icrease in their energy bills and Utilita have moved to give consumers greater energy awareness.

The study questioned 2,000 adults and found 47 per cent of people have absolutely no idea how much it costs to operate individual household items.

A quarter of adults were convinced their KETTLE is the most expensive item to run in their home, while 14 per cent think it is the oven and 13 per cent think it is the dishwasher.

More than one third of adults reckon the tumble dryer costs the most across a period of one hour – when in reality it is cheaper than the central heating system.

One in 10 thought a fridge freezer uses more juice than a hairdryer – when in fact it uses more than 10 times less.

Energy awareness

The research was commissioned by Utilita, the energy company built on giving consumers greater energy awareness.

Their spokesperson said: “Really, the cost-per-hour of most electronics is fairly minimal, so it’s easy to ignore them.

“But when added up – or used over a substantial period of time – we can really see the difference in our energy spend, if we’re paying attention.

“When it comes to energy, knowledge is power – the more data you see about your home’s energy usage, the more money you save – it’s really as simple as that.”

Rise in the cost of bills

Six in 10 Brits believe their bills have gone up ‘noticeably’ in the last 12 months, as most of the nation has been confined to their homes.

And just under half of them were surprised to see such a hike, even after a cold winter and TVs seemingly running Netflix constantly.

A tenth of the population have weekly arguments with someone in their household over running electrical items too often.

The top electricity-burners Brits will argue about include the heating, along with tumble dryers, electric heaters and even the TV.

More than half (56 per cent) of Brits say that if they knew exactly how much it cost to run electrical appliances in their homes, they’d be more conscious about using them.

But more than four in 10 adults polled via OnePoll don’t make the effort to switch appliances or other items off at the wall, preferring to leave them on standby.

Utilita’s spokesperson added: “Switching things off at the wall overnight, like your TV, will only make a small difference to your energy use and bills.

“But across the millions of TVs across the country, that could add up to a huge amount of savings and help extend the life of our planet.

“So while it might be a little bit more of an effort to remember to turn things off at the plug and not leave them on standby, if everyone did it, we would see a real difference.”

THE 30 MOST EXPENSIVE ELECTRICAL ITEMS TO RUN IN THE HOME – AND HOW MUCH THEY COST TO RUN FOR AN HOUR ON AVERAGE, ACCORDING TO UTILITA

1. Electric shower £1.66p
2. Heating (average house being 729 sq ft - 7 watts per sq ft) 92p
3. Electric heater 65p
4. Fan assisted oven 46p
5. Kettle 43p
6. Hairdryer 41p
7. Tumble dryer 37p
8. Dishwasher 37p
9. Toaster 22p
10. Iron 19p
11. Coffee machine 15p
12. Microwave 15p
13. Vacuum cleaner 13p
14. Food processor 6p
15. Computer 4p
16. Fridge freezer 4p
17. Slow cooker 3p
18. Playstation 2p
19. Xbox 2p
20. Old style incandescent lightbulb 2p
21. Laptop 1p
22. Bathroom towel heater 1p
23. Ceiling fan 1p
24. Pedestal fan 1p
25. TV 0.7p
26. Straighteners 0.5p
27. Electric shaver 0.3p
28. Games console on standby 0.2p
29. LED lightbulb 0.1p
30. Mobile phone charger 0.1p