How much do your appliances cost to run?

16:27 31 March 2010

There are many things to consider when choosing games console to buy – there's the picture and sound quality, playability and range of games available.

However, something you may not have thought about is how much each will cost to run.

And with the number of addictive games forever growing and new ways to keep enticing us back to the screen, the time spent combating the fiction foe soon mounts up. But so do the bills.

To make life a bit easier, as well as remembering not to leave your electricals on standby, Confused.com has analysed the cost of running your gaming habit. 

Looking at the three main consoles - the Xbox, Wii and PS3 – the insurer looked the amount of game time you can get for a penny. Here's the results, which provide some food for thought:

How much gaming does a penny buy?

Wii

Energy consumption – 17 watts

Usage per 1p – standard tariff (British Gas) – 4hrs 12m

Usage per 1p - best tariff (First Utility iSave3) – 6hrs 34m

Xbox

Energy consumption – 165 watts

Usage per 1p – standard tariff (British Gas) – 26 mins

Usage per 1p - best tariff (First Utility iSave3) – 41 mins

PS3

Energy consumption – 205 watts

Usage per 1p – standard tariff (British Gas) – 20 mins

Usage per 1p - best tariff (First Utility iSave3) – 33 mins

According to the calculations, 1p buys a whopping 6hrs 34m on the best tariff, making the Wii almost 10 times more energy efficient than its nearest rival the Xbox.

Microsoft's popular Xbox console came in way behind with a mere 41 minute. But worse still trailing in last place was the PS3, with 1p giving just over half an hour of game time.

In real terms, this means that six hour's daily gaming on a PS3 will cost you around £5.49 a month using a standard electricity tariff (£3.32 on the best buy).

Yet switching could save you £1.17 a month on one appliance alone. And while that may not sound a lot on its own, when added to the cost of other daily electricals, eg running TVs, washing machines, laptops and hair straighteners, it can add up very quickly. But how much do these other appliances cost to run?

Typically, the biggest cost is for managing the temperature of your home, and for those that rely on air conditioning during the summer, you'll be using a massive amount of energy. Equally, electric heaters are also pretty pricey.

Simple things like keeping the door shut or opening a window (depending on the weather) could go a long, long way to reducing your energy bills drastically.

In the following video, experts from the Energy Saving Trust and Technology Strategy Board give their top tips on how you can save both cash and the environment with small litte steps:

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Typical usage and cost for your household items

Air Con (8 hrs per day):  492 kw/mth = £59.33

Electric heater (2 hrs per day): 144 kw/mth = £17.36

Cooker (feeding a family of four every day): 60 kw/mth = £7.24

Washing Machine (weekly for family of four): 36 kw/mth = £4.34

32" LCD TV (5 hrs per day): 19.7 kw/mth = £2.38

Lights (60 watts for 4 hrs in the evening): 7.2 kw/mth = £0.87

Laptop (5 hrs per day): 4.2 kw/mth = £0.51

Microwave (10 mins per day): 4 kw/mth = £0.48

Vacuum Cleaner (2 hrs a week): 4 kw/mth = £0.48

Hair dryer (5 mins per day, four times a week): 3.33 kw/mth = £0.40

Lawn Mower (once a week): 3 kw/mth = £0.36

Hair straighteners (5 mins per day, four times a week): 2.46 kw/mth = £0.30

(Source: Confused.com)