Whether it’s the dryer breaking down mid-cycle or the fridge going bust while packed full of food, replacing household appliances can often be an unexpected spend that consumers haven’t budgeted for.

So, you find yourself trekking into your nearest electrical store, eager to get the job done and the appliances replaced without impacting on your pocket too much. To all those people looking for a quick purchase – we need to burst your bubble. This isn’t a job that should be done in haste and the number on the appliance’s energy label can be just as important as the price tag.

Darragh Garvey, electrical store manager with Harvey Norman in Blanchardstown, Dublin, says: “Many customers look at whether the appliance is an A rating or B rating but, in truth, these are just indications, they don’t mean much. What you need to be looking at is the kWh, which is the amount of electricity it will use over a year.

“You can easily work out the exact cost of running this appliance with the standard rate of electricity that is charged by your provider, which can be found on your bill.”

Tumble Dryer

So, how much can the energy rating really impact on the price of the appliance? As dryers are, without a doubt, one of the most expensive electrical appliance to run, they are a good place to start.

If you’ve been using a vented or condenser dryer for years and need a replacement, then it’s well worth looking at newer technology.

Darragh says: “The new heat-pump dryers operate differently to vented or condenser dryers.

“Instead of heating an element and blowing hot air through a drum, it pumps air in a way that is similar to your clothesline. It is cooler so it can take longer to dry your clothes, but it is much more efficient.”

Darragh says that comparing it to petrol in a car helps consumers to understand better.

“If you want to get from A to B quickly, you’ll burn more petrol, but if you take your time and coast a little bit, you’ll use much less petrol. It’s the same for dryers – the longer it takes using cooler air means less expense. Also, when the clothes come out, they are naturally dry and much softer.”

Investing in this type of dryer will set you back €499 for the Zanussi 8kg heat pump dryer ZDH8333W. At 308kWh, it will cost you €101.88 to run for the year, based on using two full loads a week.

If you were to opt for a much cheaper option, you could go for the Hover condenser dryer 9kg vtc 591nb-80 at €299. However, at 617kWh, you’ll be looking at an electricity bill of €204.10 a year. Within two years, the savings on your electricity bill will have made up for the extra amount you may have spent on day one, but given that your dryer might be on the go for 10 years, you’ll be making significant savings over that time.

Even if you were to opt for one of the most expensive – but admittedly sleekest – dryers on the market, the Siemens heat pump 7kg dryer WT46W381GB, which costs €839, your savings will clock up fast.

You’ll spend €70 a year on your bill with this model, based on two loads a week. It might be three times the cost of the Hoover model, but it’s also three times more efficient. Also, this model comes with all the bells and whistles that allows you to do a hot 30-minute cycle if you need that pair of jeans fast. It also allows for a delayed start so your clothes are freshly dry when you get home in the evening.

Fridge-Freezers

Given that your fridge-freezer is on the go 24/7, this is also an appliance where the initial cost is just one side of the story. However, spending money doesn’t always mean you’re saving in this scenario.

Double-size American-style fridge-freezers are very much on-trend and can obviously hold a significant amount of food. However, Darragh says that if you are making this investment, you must remember that you need double the electricity to power it.

“It’s like standing two fridge-freezers beside each other.”

For example, the Samsung Show Case RH57H90507F looks fantastic but even though it’s A rated (420kWh), it’s still going to cost you €69.47 to run every year. The fact that it costs €2,899 also means it is a significant investment.

If you plan to stay with the standalone, then you can get the Samsung RB31FERNBSS, which is €799 and costs €28.44 a year to run. Of course, we’re not comparing like with like here, but more to show you how much it costs to run that double fridge-freezer every year.

Comparing two standalone fridge-freezers though, consumers can see that savings can again be made by investing that bit more at the start.

For example, the Whirlpool frost-free freezer is coming in at €449, nearly half the price of the Samsung. However, at 327kWh, it costs €54.01 a year to run – nearly double the running costs. It will take you longer to see these savings compared to the dryers, but it is worth noting that the Samsung has more features, including zoned areas where you can set different temperatures for defrosting food, for example.

So, the next time you’re upgrading appliances and trying to justify the extra expenditure, remember it’s not just the fancy gadgets and added extras that are pushing up the price, it’s the energy efficiency. Seeing as that could pay for itself in the long run, it’s worth getting the calculator out and doing the sums.

Check out www.electricireland.ie where you can access their online calculator. Prices obtained from Harvey Norman are all correct at time of print.

How did we come up with the figures?

It is quite easy to figure out how much an appliance costs to run each year.

1 Find the rate that is charged by your electricity provider. This can be found on the top of your bill. For this article, we used the ESB standard rate of 0.1659, which is what most households are charged.

2 Look for the energy label on the appliance. This will be on every large appliance by law and you are looking for the kWH. For example, on our label (see right), it is 420kWh/annum.

3 Multiply them together and you will get the rate that you will be paying over the course of the year. 420 x 0.1659 = €69.67 a year.