I used an electricity calculator to track how much I pay for a cuppa and I'm tempted to cut down - Manchester Evening News

2022-08-21 16:23:10 By : Mr. shunting T

The result was surprising and has got me questioning whether I even like instant coffee anymore

I've always loved a cup of coffee, in fact I probably have four cuppas on an average day when working from home, but with household bills rising amid the energy crisis I have become a lot more conscious of the energy we use.

My partner and I are on a direct debit tariff with EDF, and since being more mindful of what we spend we have had a few months of account credit to fall back on, which is a very fortunate position to be in. Since we don't have a smart meter I was unaware of just how much day-to-day appliances cost and was intrigued to find out.

The energy calculator site, 'Sust-it' has a useful cost tool to measure how much the average household appliance uses, and it is based on the latest UK price cap of £1,971, since April 2022, so it's important to keep in mind that this will probably go up.

READ MORE: I asked E.ON for a fixed price energy tariff and was shocked by the response

All you have to do is enter the amount of electricity the appliance uses, in Watts or Kilowatts, and then length of time it is used for in minutes. If you do have a smart meter at home this could be a good way to check its efficiency.

My coffees at home are pretty basic, any type of instant granules I can find with a dash of milk with no fancy steamers or milk frothers. Our Breville kettle has a 3KW element, which is standard for most household kettles. To boil one mugs worth of water it took one minute and three seconds, which works out at £0.014p per cup.

The total cost amount of my daily four coffees comes to £0.056p a day, which is 39p a week. Added up for the whole year, for just me, that's £20.44, a lot more than I had anticipated.

The site has a range of energy calculators for everyday appliances including microwaves, washing machines and hoovers, if you want to look at more ways to reduce what you spend it's a great tool to measure what you use.

Sust-it will work out the most expensive and the least expensive in terms of annual running cost. The top ranking is the cheapest while the further you scroll the more expensive it gets in terms of energy consumption. Read more about the site here.

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