Do you want to know how much it costs to use your washing machine? Well here’s how to figure it out.
I’m going to split the blog up into sections. If you want to know how you arrive at the final figure then read it all. If you just want a rough idea then skip to the very end.
You will need –
- The capacity of your washing machine in kilograms.
- How much you pay per unit of electricity.
- The energy rating of your washing machine.
If you don’t know any of this then don’t worry. I’ve included some examples at the end.
How it’s calculated –
All washing machines sold within the EU come with an energy label that rates them on their efficiency. In order to classify them research is carried out into how much electricity they use per kilogram when washing a load of cotton on a standard 60 degree wash. To achieve a grade the machine must use less than a predefined amount of power for each kilogram it cleans.
Knowing this we can multiply the maximum load of the machine in kilograms by the maximum consumption allowed for its grade to give a figure for the most power it could possibly use for a standard wash. Once we have this it is just a matter of multiplying the amount and cost of electricity to come out with a final answer.
Calculating it –
To figure out how much power you use per wash find your washing machine’s energy rating and capacity on the table below then find where they intersect in the table. Type this number into your calculator.
Washing machine energy rating
| | A | B | C | D | E |
| 4KG capacity |
0.76 |
0.92 |
1.08 |
1.24 |
1.4 |
| 5KG capacity |
0.95 |
1.15 |
1.35 |
1.55 |
1.75 |
| 6KG capacity |
1.14 |
1.38 |
1.62 |
1.86 |
2.1 |
| 7KG capacity |
1.33 |
1.61 |
1.89 |
2.17 |
2.45 |
| 8KG capacity |
1.52 |
1.84 |
2.16 |
2.48 |
2.8 |
| 9KG capacity |
1.71 |
2.07 |
2.43 |
2.79 |
3.15 |
| 10KG capacity |
1.9 |
2.3 |
2.7 |
3.1 |
3.5 |
| 11KG capacity |
2.09 |
2.53 |
2.97 |
3.41 |
3.85 |
So for an A rated 5kg washing machine that number would be 0.95 but for a B rated 5kg machine it would be 1.15.
Once you have this then multiply it by the amount you pay per unit of electricity (normally between 9 and 16 pence).
And there you have it – your cost per wash.
Some examples –
The average UK wash load is around 5.5kg – so let’s round that up to 6kg.
The price of electricity can vary wildly depending on several factors - so I’ll call it 13p per unit.
So assuming a 6kg load and an electricity price of 13p per unit the follow is true-
An A rated washing machine costs 15p (well 14.8p but I’m rounding up) per wash.
A B rated washing machine costs 18p per wash.
A C rated washing machine costs 21p per wash.
A D rated washing machine costs 24p per wash.